Charistoph wrote: Alpha Strike IS part of Battletech now as much as Total Warfare is.
No. Total Warfare is the name of a rulebook. The rulebook for BattleTech, the game.
AlphaStrike is a different game as, just as those above me have said, Epic and 40k are different games, but are both in the 40k universe.
I haven't played Epic, so I can't really say as to all the nuances. However, it's not quite as set as that. With 40K, you are still removing individual soldiers, while with Epic you remove groups of soldiers. It's also not like GW has given a different name for their universe from their Heroic-scale game, either.
Alpha Strike and Total Warfare/Classic Battletech still have the same level of representation of the model, the major change is the detail of the weaponry and resilience. I still represent a platoon of Infantry, a Point of Protomechs, and individual Battlemechs as the same in both systems. In addition, I'm still doing the same process (though some values change) for declaring and resolving Attacks. There is far less difference between Alpha Strike and Total Warfare than there is between Epic and 40K.
I guess you're one of those who don't think AeroTech or BattleSpace is Battletech, either. I'm sorry, but that's just not a platform I can join you with.
Alpha Strike plays much quicker with inexperienced players. Old Battletech takes too long with long time players as they argue over which of the rules, they are going to use from the 30+ books over the years.
Ghaz wrote: As the others have stated, BattleTech covers the entire line, so it's the best way to specify which game is being referred to.
So does 40k, and I haven't seen this assertion anywhere.
If you say "I play Battletech" usually people mean (and almost everyone understand) "I play in the Battletech universe with the current Total Warfare rules or whichever is the latest or the one I prefer", I have never in my life seen it stated otherwise. Kinda like when people say "I play 40k".
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Theophony wrote: Alpha Strike plays much quicker with inexperienced players. Old Battletech takes too long with long time players as they argue over which of the rules, they are going to use from the 30+ books over the years.
Is that really the case? I can't say it's something I see a lot, unlike "3025 or clan era?" One of the benefits of having the core rules unchanged from 30+ years ago, I suspect.
That may be the case for experienced wargamers, but what of those who have no experience with BattleTech and don't have an experienced player to consult? Are they supposed to know that a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' is 'BattleTech' while a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Alpha Strike' is 'Alpha Strike'? With the influx of new blood into the BattleTech universe, clarity for the new players is a good thing if we want to keep them in the game and it's not worth throwing a hissy fit if someone calls 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' as 'Total Warfare'.
Theophony wrote: Alpha Strike plays much quicker with inexperienced players. Old Battletech takes too long with long time players as they argue over which of the rules, they are going to use from the 30+ books over the years.
Honestly, I just really want a middle ground. Alpha Strike is too streamlined for what I want, but classic Battletech could really benefit from more modern combat resolution. Lance scale combat essentially. It takes way too long in classic, but Alpha Strike definitely aims for much larger forces. I suppose the 1 Star = 2 Lances ratio doesn't exactly make something like that easy.
Theophony wrote: Alpha Strike plays much quicker with inexperienced players. Old Battletech takes too long with long time players as they argue over which of the rules, they are going to use from the 30+ books over the years.
Honestly, I just really want a middle ground. Alpha Strike is too streamlined for what I want, but classic Battletech could really benefit from more modern combat resolution. Lance scale combat essentially. It takes way too long in classic, but Alpha Strike definitely aims for much larger forces. I suppose the 1 Star = 2 Lances ratio doesn't exactly make something like that easy.
The Alpha Strike: Commander's Edition gives a bunch of options to add more flavor.
I stayed away from Battletech for 30+ years because it was too much pencilwork. The local shop has a bunch of long-time players and they are not the best at teaching new folks the game. Especially if you are not willing to learn the history and lore in exacting detail .
Ghaz wrote: That may be the case for experienced wargamers, but what of those who have no experience with BattleTech and don't have an experienced player to consult? Are they supposed to know that a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' is 'BattleTech' while a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Alpha Strike' is 'Alpha Strike'? With the influx of new blood into the BattleTech universe, clarity for the new players is a good thing if we want to keep them in the game and it's not worth throwing a hissy fit if someone calls 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' as 'Total Warfare'.
At this point, I rather have to honestly wonder about how honestly are you asking these questions, because it's the first time someone seems to have had any kind of trouble making the distinction.
But hey, you do you. I, personally, would just say that it's not worth throwing a hissy fit if someone calls 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' as 'Battletech', either.
Ghaz wrote: Are they supposed to know that a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Total Warfare' is 'BattleTech' while a rulebook with the title 'BattleTech: Alpha Strike' is 'Alpha Strike'?
Yes. Because it's obvious.
When someone says "I play 40k", the response isn't "But which 40k? Command Edition? Elite Edition? Recruit Edition? Kill-Team? Aeronautica Imperialis? Blackstone Fortress? Necromunda?".
BattleTech is the game of BattleTech. Everything beyond that - BattleTroops, the RPG, AlphaStrike, BattleForce, etc. - are just spin-off games.
I guess you're one of those who don't think AeroTech or BattleSpace is Battletech, either. I'm sorry, but that's just not a platform I can join you with.
Depends on what you mean by 'is BattleTech". Are they part of the basic rules? No. Do they feature optional rules that allow them to be integrated into a game of BattleTech? Yes. Are they required to play a game of BattleTech? Not even slightly. So... context and POV make that question a matter of opinion.
BattleForce and Alpha Strike are separate games that CANNOT be integrated into a game of BattleTech. They are a different set of rules intended for a different purpose - larger scale combat in the BatlleTech universe. So they're part of the BT UNIVERSE, but not part of the BT GAME, yes?
I suppose that's the issue. When you say 'Is not BattleTech", do you mean 'not part of the BT universe', or 'not part of the game CALLED BattleTech'? The answer varies from there.
The thing is the TT game was always just BattleTech to me since i started playing it in 1987. the moniker of "classic" had to be added on after fanpro/catalyst to differentiate it from the dark age clicky game and everything else that followed.
They all may be set in the BattleTech/MechWarrior universe, but to me there is only one game that is actually called BattleTech. otherwise, you are playing
.dark age
.alpha strike
.the MechWarrior RPG
the "confusion" over the name really just comes down to what books you need v what books you may find useful
also the BattleTech: Alpha Strike bit is clear and obvious once you know its a different game system prior to that it looks like an expansion
easy to see someone picking up AS and then a source book for the base game and getting confused, not hard to work out, but branding AS as "Alpha Stike" with "BattleTech" as a sub heading or something could help
BattleTech is the game of BattleTech. Everything beyond that - BattleTroops, the RPG, AlphaStrike, BattleForce, etc. - are just spin-off games.
You guys have ruined an entire page of this thread over an argument based on your inability to accept that meaning evolves over time. There is no current rulebook for a game just called 'Battletech'. CGL has made it quite clear what all the various ways to enjoy the Battletech universe are, and Total Warfare is now the name of the standard ruleset that's been there since the beginning.
BattleTech is the game of BattleTech. Everything beyond that - BattleTroops, the RPG, AlphaStrike, BattleForce, etc. - are just spin-off games.
You guys have ruined an entire page of this thread over an argument based on your inability to accept that meaning evolves over time. There is no current rulebook for a game just called 'Battletech'. CGL has made it quite clear what all the various ways to enjoy the Battletech universe are, and Total Warfare is now the name of the standard ruleset that's been there since the beginning.
Total Warfare is not actually even a game at all, according to Catalyst.
From the back of Total Warfare:
Total Warfare is the single-source rulebook for people who play BattleTech.
It is not intended to teach new players the game, but rather to serve as a reference work for people who know the game, while introducing more technologies and expansive rules than appear in the basic box set. The introductory game in the BattleTech line is the line is the A Game of Armored Combat box set. New players should pick up that product before diving into this one.
Construction rules for the various units presented in Total Warfare can be found in TechManual.
Comparatively, this is what they say in the back of the AS book:
Alpha Strike is a new, fast-playing form of the BattleTech game of futuristic, armored combat. Developed for the modern tabletop miniatures wargamer, this book brings players the ability to wage war on land, sea, and air using the Quick-Strike game system first devised for truly large-scale play, re-scaled to the tactical level of “classic” BattleTech.
Complete with sample armies and a ready-to-play campaign system, all you need besides this book are dice, miniatures, and tabletop terrain to fight for control over the Inner Sphere on land, sea, and air—one world at a time!
So at least they believe that AS is a separate form of the Battletech game, while TW is simply a reference book to play Battletech.
Albertorius wrote: So at least they believe that AS is a separate form of the Battletech game, while TW is simply a reference book to play Battletech.
A 'fast-playing form of the BattleTech game' is still a 'form of the BattleTech game' just like the rules in Total Warfare are the 'original form of the BattleTech game'.
BattleTech is the game of BattleTech. Everything beyond that - BattleTroops, the RPG, AlphaStrike, BattleForce, etc. - are just spin-off games.
You guys have ruined an entire page of this thread over an argument based on your inability to accept that meaning evolves over time. There is no current rulebook for a game just called 'Battletech'. CGL has made it quite clear what all the various ways to enjoy the Battletech universe are, and Total Warfare is now the name of the standard ruleset that's been there since the beginning.
Agreed. I've said all that I have to say on the matter.
The march of technology across BattleTech’s eras is relentless—but some war machines never die. This PDF-only series includes brand-new BattleMechs and OmniMechs, alongside Classic ’Mechs and combat vehicles from both the Inner Sphere and the Clans rebuilt with the latest technology to keep them competitive on modern battlefields. This series also includes in-universe development notes, battle histories, notable pilots, and record sheets for each unit.
aphyon wrote: The thing is the TT game was always just BattleTech to me since i started playing it in 1987. the moniker of "classic" had to be added on after fanpro/catalyst to differentiate it from the dark age clicky game
Which I found funny because Dark Age isn't even called Battletech, it was released as Mechwarrior: Dark Age because non-Battletech people knew the video games better.
Albertorius wrote: So at least they believe that AS is a separate form of the Battletech game, while TW is simply a reference book to play Battletech.
A 'fast-playing form of the BattleTech game' is still a 'form of the BattleTech game' just like the rules in Total Warfare are the 'original form of the BattleTech game'.
But the rules in Total Warfare are just a compendium of rules for that "original form of the Battletech game", not "the Battletech game", either old or new: Catalyst is telling you, very specifically, that Total War is not the Battletech game, but rather a compilation of rules for Battletech, and that it's not a good starting point either: it's a supplement for the game, which, if anything, would be A Game of Armored Combat, NOT Total Warfare.
Ancestral Hamster wrote: Any word on if CGL will sell plastic mechs individually? If I build the 3025 Black Widow company, I'll need some duplicates.
Only via the random Salvage Boxes.
Thanks for the reply. I thought about Iron Wind for singles, but the prices! For a little bit more one can get a full lance in plastic and just use the duplicates.
Ancestral Hamster wrote: Any word on if CGL will sell plastic mechs individually? If I build the 3025 Black Widow company, I'll need some duplicates.
Only via the random Salvage Boxes.
Thanks for the reply. I thought about Iron Wind for singles, but the prices! For a little bit more one can get a full lance in plastic and just use the duplicates.
This was more true at the original lance pack MSRPs but after the increase there's a bit more gap there. The IWM minis are great for filling in a duplicate because you can build them in different poses and the detail is much sharper. Plus, once you've bought a couple IWM minis you won't be able to resist the urge to start adding mechs that aren't in plastic
Ancestral Hamster wrote: Any word on if CGL will sell plastic mechs individually? If I build the 3025 Black Widow company, I'll need some duplicates.
Only via the random Salvage Boxes.
Thanks for the reply. I thought about Iron Wind for singles, but the prices! For a little bit more one can get a full lance in plastic and just use the duplicates.
This was more true at the original lance pack MSRPs but after the increase there's a bit more gap there. The IWM minis are great for filling in a duplicate because you can build them in different poses and the detail is much sharper. Plus, once you've bought a couple IWM minis you won't be able to resist the urge to start adding mechs that aren't in plastic
Remember however that not all of the Iron Wind Metals minis are the updated designs.
Prometheum5 wrote: This was more true at the original lance pack MSRPs but after the increase there's a bit more gap there. The IWM minis are great for filling in a duplicate because you can build them in different poses and the detail is much sharper. Plus, once you've bought a couple IWM minis you won't be able to resist the urge to start adding mechs that aren't in plastic
At least in the case of the Griffin GRF-1N, it's $18.50 from Iron Wind, and the Beginner's Box that has the plastic one sells for $19.99 at Miniature Market. Similarly MM sells the Inner Sphere Battle Lance (Warhammer, Rifleman, Phoenix Hawk, and Wasp) at $15.99. All of those are iconic mechs and are frequently on opposite sides in scenarios. Now with the past year's inflation, it is possible that the price will increase once they are back in stock at MM.
So I need six mechs to complete the Black Widow Company: Wasp, 2 Stingers, Griffin, Crusader, and Phoenix Hawk. The IS Battle Lance will take care of four of those. Are plastic Stingers available outside of the Command Lance? Also, are plastic Griffins and Thunderbolts available outside of the starter boxes?
Black Widow Company in 3025 AD Command LanceFire LanceRecon Lance Warhammer Archer* Rifleman*
Marauder* Archer* Phoenix Hawk
Crusader Wasp Stinger
Griffin Stinger* Stinger
Thanks for the reply. I see that the Eridani Light Horse Hunter Lance will have a Thunderbolt, and as I also like the Eridani Light Horse that set would make it on the wish list anyway.
Prometheum5 wrote: This was more true at the original lance pack MSRPs but after the increase there's a bit more gap there. The IWM minis are great for filling in a duplicate because you can build them in different poses and the detail is much sharper. Plus, once you've bought a couple IWM minis you won't be able to resist the urge to start adding mechs that aren't in plastic
At least in the case of the Griffin GRF-1N, it's $18.50 from Iron Wind, and the Beginner's Box that has the plastic one sells for $19.99 at Miniature Market. Similarly MM sells the Inner Sphere Battle Lance (Warhammer, Rifleman, Phoenix Hawk, and Wasp) at $15.99. All of those are iconic mechs and are frequently on opposite sides in scenarios. Now with the past year's inflation, it is possible that the price will increase once they are back in stock at MM.
So I need six mechs to complete the Black Widow Company: Wasp, 2 Stingers, Griffin, Crusader, and Phoenix Hawk. The IS Battle Lance will take care of four of those. Are plastic Stingers available outside of the Command Lance? Also, are plastic Griffins and Thunderbolts available outside of the starter boxes?
Black Widow Company in 3025 AD Command LanceFire LanceRecon Lance Warhammer Archer* Rifleman*
Marauder* Archer* Phoenix Hawk
Crusader Wasp Stinger
Griffin Stinger* Stinger
For your specific case, since I also built the same force, I think I cheated and swapped one of the Stingers for the new WSP-1W Wasp from the Alpha Strike box. Three Stingers seemed like a lot, even as accuracy-focused as I am. The nice thing with the duplicate Archers is that you can grab the Legendary Morgan Kell Archer for a second pose, or make one a Wolf Archer from the WD Star.
TalonZahn wrote: Also, I thought the newest Merc Force Packs were supposed to be set in the current timeline, not the 4th Succession Wars timeline.
The Fourth Succession War was from 3028 to 3030. Each of the unreleased Mercenary Force Packs have a 'Mech which was introduced decades after the Fourth Succession War.
TalonZahn wrote: Also, I thought the newest Merc Force Packs were supposed to be set in the current timeline, not the 4th Succession Wars timeline.
The Fourth Succession War was from 3028 to 3030. Each of the unreleased Mercenary Force Packs have a 'Mech which was introduced decades after the Fourth Succession War.
Prometheum5 wrote: For your specific case, since I also built the same force, I think I cheated and swapped one of the Stingers for the new WSP-1W Wasp from the Alpha Strike box. Three Stingers seemed like a lot, even as accuracy-focused as I am. The nice thing with the duplicate Archers is that you can grab the Legendary Morgan Kell Archer for a second pose, or make one a Wolf Archer from the WD Star.
Thanks for the suggestion; I may follow it as I've been thinking about buying Alpha Strike as I want bigger battles than are practical with the original game system.
Thanks for the link. I've made an account and made a wishlist, as the Griffin is OoS, as is the Stinger. OTOH, unlike Miniature Market they do have Alpha Strike and the IS Battle Lance in stock, and they stock decals (though OoS right now). Down side, no free shipping at $100+ like MM.
Indeed, Fortress is a great place to buy from. So far other than buying A Game of Armored Combat from one local store, Fortress is where I have bought everything I currently own for Battletech.
I have only been "Battletech adjacent" for the last 25 years, having played the clicky game (unfortunately) and lots of the video games all the way back to Mechwarrior 2 and Battletech on the Sega Genesis, but never pulling the trigger on the actual tabletop game, mostly because I hated 95% of the model sculpts.
Fortress and Aries are both great, but I'll make a plug for Aries being my preferred source of BT goodies. He's got the full IWM catalog and dude is the fastest shipper I've ever seen. I'll realize i need something and place an order and 9PM and get a tracking number that night, and it's here a couple days later. I swear, he lives IN a USPS shipping hub, there's no other explanation!
Prometheum5 wrote: Fortress and Aries are both great, but I'll make a plug for Aries being my preferred source of BT goodies. He's got the full IWM catalog and dude is the fastest shipper I've ever seen. I'll realize i need something and place an order and 9PM and get a tracking number that night, and it's here a couple days later. I swear, he lives IN a USPS shipping hub, there's no other explanation!
Aries has been good for me. They've been my source of Protomechs, and they've been doing good.
I haven't tried Fortress yet. I might as I need to replace my Raven after the family puppy turned it and its base in to the results of a serious Long Tom pounding.
Charistoph wrote: Aries has been good for me. They've been my source of Protomechs, and they've been doing good.
I haven't tried Fortress yet. I might as I need to replace my Raven after the family puppy turned it and its base in to the results of a serious Long Tom pounding.
Fortress is great if you need plastic singles or are looking for second hand books. I've gotten quite a few books from him for better prices than ebay, but I don't think he gets in new stock that much.
I've ordered from Aries and Fortress. Both are good.
Fortress was useful as they were selling individual items, which let me get 3 bases of the new Elementals to make up a full Star. They were also selling the retailer only map sheet, which is a big double-sized Lunar one.
Flinty wrote: That's a great idea for paint set. Contrast style stuff really works nicely on the textures of Mechs. Add a few normal paints for details and bang.
I’m looking to paint up my Alpha Strike box set and could use some suggestions. I want to paint one of the forces (IS and Clan) blue and the other one green. Any suggestions for nice-looking paint schemes that are also thematic?
cpugeek13 wrote: I’m looking to paint up my Alpha Strike box set and could use some suggestions. I want to paint one of the forces (IS and Clan) blue and the other one green. Any suggestions for nice-looking paint schemes that are also thematic?
While I don't know enough about the lore to help you, there are two useful sites. The Battletech Wiki is a generalized database and provides all sorts of info; including CGL products. Camo Specs Online is focused on color schemes, so you may want to browse it. The partial quote about House Liao colors below is from Camo Specs Online.
House Colors - Capellan Confederation Color Scheme
Liao military hardware, like that of their ancient enemy House Davion, is usually thought of as green—“Liao” green. Liao green can be interpreted as mid-to-light greens, such as forest, kelly or jade green. However, Capellan units are just as likely to use red as green, though they tend toward darker reds such as maroon and burgundy. Metallic colors are also prominent in many Capellan paint schemes. The colors ivory, jade and gold are especially important, and are only used by specific forces upon whom some honor has been conferred.
Steiner (IS) vs Jade Falcon (Clan). Easy blue vs green.
Like Hamster said, Camo Specs says you can't go wrong with blue on your Steiner mechs. And Jade Falcon's Delta Galaxy is pretty iconic, green mechs with yellow highlighted panels.
As somebody with a cursory interest in Battletech, having bought the starter set and played a few games almost a decade back, this article on Goonhammer somewhat reinvigorates my interest.
As somebody with little knowledge besides "A Clan Star should fight 2 IS Lances" and "BV is not a useful balancing tool", having "list construction" rules are useful tools.
Rihgu wrote: As somebody with a cursory interest in Battletech, having bought the starter set and played a few games almost a decade back, this article on Goonhammer somewhat reinvigorates my interest.
As somebody with little knowledge besides "A Clan Star should fight 2 IS Lances" and "BV is not a useful balancing tool", having "list construction" rules are useful tools.
The thing about BattleTech is that it isn't like 40K. the core rules are the core rules and there are books full of optional rules that you and your players can choose to use or not use.
There is something like 4 variant rules for expaned ECM abilities. our group for example uses-
rules to speed up game play
.forced withdrawal
.safecon for retreating units
.fire as you bear rules removing the entire declare fire phase since it adds to much time to game play.
other things for enjoyment like-
.old max tech level 3 damage charts for vehicles to make them more viable.
.old ammo explosion rules because it is fun.
.+1 pilot check for every 20 points of damage
.alternate ammo
We however almost never allow custom mechs because it tends to open the door to abuse
Battle value can have a purpose such as numerically different forces or a framework for an event. however, it is calculated to represent the units maximum firepower at maximum speed and poorly translates to actual gameplay. especially when the crit mechanics, pilot interactions etc... of the game are taken into account.
However, if you just like to play what you like to play and throw down for a non-narrative game. the 1 star VS 2 lanced all with standard pilots (4/5 for IS and 3/4 for clan with the related commanders being aces) or star V star/lance V lance is perfectly reasonable.
After over 30 years of playing BattleTech it is the method i prefer. I also lean heavy towards lore and thematic lists. using the mechs or units the faction should be using.
What i usually do is see what my opponent is bringing and then try to somewhat make a comparable force. I have done games against assault lances with fast heavy C3 lances and done just fine. by comparison i have run clan stars on the lighter side compared to my opposite in zellbrigan matches and managed to pull off close victories thanks to some good crit rolls.
Today a slew of elements launch, all pointing towards our coming Kickstarter campaign.
Here’s the rundown:
BACKERKIT PRE-LAUNCH PAGE IS LIVE!
Our preview, pre-launch page is live on BackerKit, right now! This preview page offers a look at what’s coming in the Mercenaries Kickstarter when it launches on March 23 at AdeptiCon. This includes a list of all the ForcePacks that will be available; a new 4” Timber Wolf for Veteran-level and above backers; the Salvage Box: Visigoth aerospace fighter, free to those that back in the first 48 hours; the incredibly exciting Kickstarter Launch Parties that might come to your corner of the Inner Sphere; and playtesting materials you can access right now by registering on the BackerKit pre-launch page!
We continue our in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the development of the miniatures for this Kickstarter. Preview 03 PDF is now available–for free as always–covering the Ostroc and Mobile HQ!
As noted on the BackerKit pre-launch page, we’re trying something different with the t-shirts this time around. Instead of incorporating them as rewards for the Mercenaries Kickstarter, we’re simply releasing them on our store, pairing up a mercenary outfit with a faction.
The first pair is available now:
Illican Lancers
Clan Sea Fox
More factions and mercenary commands will be available in the coming months, covering multiple eras:
February 10: Eridani Light Horse & Star League
March 10: Northwind Highlanders & The Republic of the Sphere
Based upon the success of these first items, more mercenary and faction t-shirts will roll out during the rest of the year.
Stock: This is our first time offering faction t-shirts in this fashion. As such, we’ve been conservative on quantities. However, these are made in the U.S. and Silkworm has been a stalwart company to work with, always willing to run with us when needed. As such, if sales significantly exceed expectations, we can restock within 21 days.
The Mercenary Tales are a new series of short stories tied into the Kickstarter campaign, the new t-shirts, and the preview of ’Mechs and vehicles coming in the Kickstarter. The series kicks off today with Riptides by Randall N. Bills, a new ilClan Era story that features Clan Sea Fox and the Illician Lancers mercenary outfit.
Riptides The Mercenary Tales, #1, by Randall N. Bills
A new era is dawning…
The Illician Lancers: a mercenary outfit with centuries of honorable tradition, yet somehow always missing the limelight. Especially recently, after their mission failure during the liberation of New Syrtis in 3147 tarnished their once-sterling reputation and left them languishing on the Capellan border. Can Colonel Luciana Araya Morales overcome the shame of those events and restore the Lancers to their former glory?
Meanwhile, as Clan Wolf prepares for its invasion of the cradle of humanity, Ya’el Labov, saKhan of the Sea Fox Khanate, hunts for new opportunities in the currents wafting from Terra. Rumors that the Clan Wolf Khan is using mercenaries as part of his attack plan set the wily saKhan’s mind to spinning. How can he take advantage of this, and make Clan Sea Fox’s star rise even further?
Two people with very different goals are about to embark on a shared mission that, if successful, will change much in the Inner Sphere. And if they are not, their alliance may be doomed to failure before it can even begin…
The Clan Sea Fox dice puck is now available! This item is the same, high-quality, anodized aircraft-grade aluminum magnet-lidded case as previous Lostech Dice pucks. Includes two 16mm dice, and four 12mm dice.
Stock: This is stock remaining from sales at Gen Con 2022. Once they are gone, it will be some time before they can be restocked.
As the “Vintage”-cover printings of the Total Warfare rulebook line have gone out of print, they have been reprinted with new, mercenary-themed covers, and now the Interstellar Operations books have received the same treatment. The two Interstellar Operations covers allowed us to really spread our artistic wings. The incredible size differences of combat units is on display on the Alternate Eras book, while a shot from the Battle of Misery covered in the novel Wolves on the Border, graces the BattleForce cover.
They said "not as rewards" so the shirts might still be choosable as an add-on.
I do hope they will offer the various exclusive Merc Force Packs as add-ons as well as the old Force Packs. I'm missing some and they are hard to get here.
Ok, well, don't say HBMC never did nuthin' for the peoples*, as Lauren Coleman himself got back to me RE: T-Shirts, with this:
Lauren L. Coleman wrote:Not saying no... but may have to. Or have to limit how many. Please remember, even one shirt design can create 8-16 skus. It created a logistical problem. the most mismanaged item(s) in our Clan Invasion campaign, when it came to fulfillment? T-shirts.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Ok, well, don't say HBMC never did nuthin' for the peoples*, as Lauren Coleman himself got back to me RE: T-Shirts, with this:
If it comes down to it, I would much rather them focus on getting the minis right and delivered on time that dick around with T-shirts. Scope creep kills Kickstarters.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Ok, well, don't say HBMC never did nuthin' for the peoples*, as Lauren Coleman himself got back to me RE: T-Shirts, with this:
If it comes down to it, I would much rather them focus on getting the minis right and delivered on time that dick around with T-shirts. Scope creep kills Kickstarters.
Prometheum5 wrote: If it comes down to it, I would much rather them focus on getting the minis right and delivered on time that dick around with T-shirts. Scope creep kills Kickstarters.
Hear! Hear! Focus on the game pieces, not swag.
Which is all good and fine - and I don't disagree - but they are doing T-shirts with this KS, but are doing them in a way that makes it very difficult (not to mention expensive) for anyone outside of the continental USA.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Which is all good and fine - and I don't disagree - but they are doing T-shirts with this KS, but are doing them in a way that makes it very difficult (not to mention expensive) for anyone outside of the continental USA.
Ah, fair enough. Then they should find a better method of fulfilling that part of the KS for those outside of the US if feasible.
Well thats kind of the problem, is that it isn't really part of the kickstarter. The T-shirst will be sold directly via their webstore during the course of the kickstarter campaign in order to ease the logistical burden of fulfillment of the kickstarter itself.
That's about the best update I can give you. Actively being worked on. It's just too far out to give you a release window, because it's still much too hypothetical. We understand and appreciate the interest in these, we want them out too.
chaos0xomega wrote: Well thats kind of the problem, is that it isn't really part of the kickstarter. The T-shirst will be sold directly via their webstore during the course of the kickstarter campaign in order to ease the logistical burden of fulfillment of the kickstarter itself.
Which basically boils down to "people outside of the USA need not to apply".
Death_from_above wrote:
Couple of snippets from the comments in Anthony's Patreon (emojis were included in Anthony's replies) ;
Regarding the MASH Truck in the upcoming KS Objectives ForcePack :
Q : I wonder if there is a panel underneath the side extension of the MASH, so that it can be depicted on the move by taking off that bit?
A : That is the plan, but no guarantee.
With 3 RecGuides to go, an average of 9 Mechs/vees per volume and 22 redesigns remaining (shown so far), there's potentially room for a couple more :
Q : Almost forgot, you've done the big missile tank but what about the little one, the Hunter Light Support Tank? Any plans?
A : You'll have to wait and see as the Rec Guides roll out
Next one is not necessarily KS- or RecGuide-related, could be further off :
Q: Blood Asp then I'd love to see some Protos updated and get love. Would also appreciate a savage Coyote
A : Might be able to do something there eventually
If they did a plastic Blood Asp I might finally have a mini of one.
Never bought the original. Gave up putting the second one together (ghastly miniature - literally threw it across the room one time I hate that thing so much). Bought the third one from Iron Wind, but never received it (and it was months later that I realised).
I gotta say, I really appreciate that BT allows you to just put together a lance of whatever mechs you like and play a game. No fussing with force org or army lists, or having to paint 30+ models before you can play. If my 3D printer hadn't conked out while printing this base, I'd probably have a full lance of printed mechs to go with the plastic ones I have on the way (whenever Catalyst gets around to shipping them).
Y'know, someone on Reddit a year or two ago did the coconut crab scheme on some Crabs and King Crabs, and it looked pretty neat- but I figured going that route might be a bit too on the nose.
I think I'll be doing a more conventional scheme for the opfor.
Flinty wrote: This is Battletech... surely each of the armour plates needs separate numbering for record keeping purposes
@Albertorious - what is your teenytiniest brush?
...I think I have a 0? I mostly use size 1 and 2 >_>
I probably should do something to mark them, yeah, but I'm not yet sure what.
Also, Catalyst is leaving money on the table by not releasing "28mm" stuff. Those toads would look gorgeous at the scale (I know they seem to be getting to it, but still).
Albertorius wrote: I probably should do something to mark them, yeah, but I'm not yet sure what.
Simple vertical lines (on the back of the base) would work. Different colors for different Stars, and a different number of lines for each Point (e.g., one line for the first point, two for the second, etc.).
Flinty wrote: This is Battletech... surely each of the armour plates needs separate numbering for record keeping purposes
@Albertorious - what is your teenytiniest brush?
...I think I have a 0? I mostly use size 1 and 2 >_>
I probably should do something to mark them, yeah, but I'm not yet sure what.
Also, Catalyst is leaving money on the table by not releasing "28mm" stuff. Those toads would look gorgeous at the scale (I know they seem to be getting to it, but still).
I just did colored helmet/mohawk stripes on mine. That was easier than a shoulder pad for the Elementals, but on other BAs that's where I'll put a marking.
Also, Catalyst is leaving money on the table by not releasing "28mm" stuff. Those toads would look gorgeous at the scale (I know they seem to be getting to it, but still).
I would buy so many of them. I already have to resist buying more stars of them. One day, I'll have a Galaxy worth for Ghost Bear and enough to run all my other Clans as Novas and Super Novas
Albertorius wrote:Also, Catalyst is leaving money on the table by not releasing "28mm" stuff. Those toads would look gorgeous at the scale (I know they seem to be getting to it, but still).
They would. While Ironwind Metals have larger models of Elementals in 25mm and 28mm, they are based on the original designs, so look a bit derpy in comparison. They also have some of a similar size with the Inner Sphere Hauberk Battle Armor. They were designed for the very old and outdated BattleTroops game.
Ghaz wrote:Simple vertical lines (on the back of the base) would work. Different colors for different Stars, and a different number of lines for each Point (e.g., one line for the first point, two for the second, etc.).
One of our local guys did that for his Combat Vehicles. Well, not hashes, but triangles on the base. There are also some 3D printed sub-bases which can provide numbers for them, too.
Prometheum5 wrote:I just did colored helmet/mohawk stripes on mine. That was easier than a shoulder pad for the Elementals, but on other BAs that's where I'll put a marking.
That's what I did with my metal Elementals and Protomechs. I just barely got a couple of the new plastics, but with their huge bases, I may delay in painting them, and may even trade them for a 'Mech I lost (puppy got my finished Raven).
Technically, it's the "Royal Treatment" sale, where previously customers were asked what they wanted discounted, so there's more than just Battletech. However, I topped up a held order for the free shipping, and so I'll be getting a lot of BT stuff + the Alpha Strike box.
BattleTech: Beginner Box (2022) (Royal Treatment Sale) - For the Griffin and whatever the 2nd mech is.
Inner Sphere Fire Lance (Royal Treatment Sale)
Inner Sphere Battle Lance
BattleTech: Alpha Strike Box Set (New Arrival)
Frostgrave: Forgotten Pacts
Chessex 16mm d6 Set: Translucent - Blue w/White (12)
We design BattleTech products to be playable right out of the box–but the most immersive BattleTech experience comes when ranks of miniatures painted in the colors of your favorite factions clash on the tabletop. We’re pleased to announce a new paint set that will help painters develop their skills and bring new life to their miniatures.
Catalyst Game Labs and The Army Painter have partnered to create the BattleTech Starter Set, harnessing the cutting edge Speed Paints to make it easier than ever to paint your ’Mechs. It’s a perfect companion to the fully assembled, out-of-the-box play that Catalyst’s BattleTech miniatures provide.
“I’ve wanted to see an official paint starter set for BattleTech for a long time,” said Randall N. Bills, Managing Developer for Catalyst Game Labs. “After looking at the market, it was hard not to think that The Army Painter’s Speed Paints were a perfect match for BattleTech. It was a fun experience for our team to paint up a pile of UrbanMechs to see how Speed Paints work, and then to help select the colors for this first starter set. We hope this is just the beginning of a long relationship.”
The Army Painter was founded to help gamers of all types have more fun playing, by painting their miniatures using high-quality products that are affordably priced and perfect for the job. Army Painter products are designed to make painting fun, easy, and fast.
“At The Army Painter we are highly excited about this project,” said Bo M Penstoft, Founder of The Army Painter. “BattleTech has been around for ages–and I remember playing it when I was a young man (a different Millennium)–so having worked out the perfect colors for this fantastic range is a real hobby achievement for me personally. I trust hobbyists all over the world will rejoice at this set.”
Stay tuned to bg.battletech.com for more information on when the BattleTech Starter Set will be available.
About Catalyst Game Labs
Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high-quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes—all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.
The Army Painter
Since 2007, The Army Painter has grown from a two-person startup with one product to a complete hobby company with nearly 80 employees. Army Painter in a new state-of-the-art production facility in Skanderborg, Denmark. A far cry from filling Quickshade tins from a tiny red barn in Bo’s backyard. The Army Painter Colour Lab has gone on to develop several key products and ranges. All designed to help new and experienced gamers bring their gray plastic sprues to life. From the first clip to the final layer of paint–and everything in between. Find The Army Painter online at www.thearmypainter.com.
BattleMech Recognition Guide: ilClan, Vol. 30
The march of technology across BattleTech’s eras is relentless—but some war machines never die. This PDF-only series includes brand-new BattleMechs and OmniMechs, alongside Classic ’Mechs and combat vehicles from both the Inner Sphere and the Clans rebuilt with the latest technology to keep them competitive on modern battlefields. This series also includes in-universe development notes, battle histories, notable pilots, and record sheets for each unit.
Formosa wrote: I always liked the MW4 Mad Dog with the little chin mounted gun, hope we get that... unless we already have and I missed it?
In-universe it's known as the Vulture Mk II and is functionally identical to the Mad Dog. It has not received a plastic miniature and I would give it low odds to appear as one.
The Vulture Mk III is essentially the "more correct" version of the MW4 one as it has the right amount of guns, and larger missile racks that the MW4 version seemed to have. The Vulture Mk III A might even match the config used in the opening movie, given that thing had Autocannons.
Of course, the Mk III was introduced away after the FedCom Civil War, which is when MW4: Vengeance is set, so... *shrugs*
I mean, the Mad Cat Mk II was meant to be the Mad Cat in that game, until people started asking "Where's the Timber Wolf?".
H.B.M.C. wrote: The Vulture Mk III is essentially the "more correct" version of the MW4 one as it has the right amount of guns, and larger missile racks that the MW4 version seemed to have. The Vulture Mk III A might even match the config used in the opening movie, given that thing had Autocannons.
Of course, the Mk III was introduced away after the FedCom Civil War, which is when MW4: Vengeance is set, so... *shrugs*
I mean, the Mad Cat Mk II was meant to be the Mad Cat in that game, until people started asking "Where's the Timber Wolf?".
I have the IWM version of that mini and it is fantastic i run it as the mad-dog/vulture D since the models weapons look like the loadout.
Not an especially great variant, but then again, as I've said many'a time before, the chief defining feature of the Vulture/Loki/Thor is that they are not Mad Cats, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Not an especially great variant, but then again, as I've said many'a time before, the chief defining feature of the Vulture/Loki/Thor is that they are not Mad Cats, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Uh no not that-
the Mad dog D has-
.2 medium pulse lasers center torso
.ER medium and small laser in each arm
.1 ATM 12 in each torso
H.B.M.C. wrote: I mean, the Mad Cat Mk II was meant to be the Mad Cat in that game, until people started asking "Where's the Timber Wolf?".
TIL that MW4 is where the MkII originated.
On the subject of the videogames, am I correct in understanding that MW4 depicting IS forces fielding Mad Cats during the 3060s is non-canon? I've been playing Mechwarrior games for 20-odd years, but only now diving into the written lore, and I'm getting the distinct impression that Clan mechs should be way rarer in IS hands than the games imply.
(Also, what the heck is the etymology of 'zellbrigen'?)
H.B.M.C. wrote: I mean, the Mad Cat Mk II was meant to be the Mad Cat in that game, until people started asking "Where's the Timber Wolf?".
TIL that MW4 is where the MkII originated.
On the subject of the videogames, am I correct in understanding that MW4 depicting IS forces fielding Mad Cats during the 3060s is non-canon? I've been playing Mechwarrior games for 20-odd years, but only now diving into the written lore, and I'm getting the distinct impression that Clan mechs should be way rarer in IS hands than the games imply.
Pretty much. The only source an IS force would have for a Timber Wolf a decade after the initial Clan invasion would be battlefield salvage, and a lot of the initial stuff salvaged was whisked off by house forces for teardowns and research. There'd be a few here and there but they would certainly be rare because there would be no IS manufacturing source of them yet. The Clans had to bring all their 'Mechs with them from Clan space and any resupplies had to be shipped down. Specifically regarding the Timber Wolf, if you check Sarna they do mention that Clan Wolf started manufacturing them in their Inner Sphere territory in 3080 but they weren't making many. It's funny how the Mad Cat because the poster child for the whole franchise, but in fiction they weren't very common at any point. They are mostly limited to Clan Wolf, with only them being able to manufacture the 'Mech and any others seen in other forces were generally via salvage or gifts.
A little bit of info concerning the Mercenaries Kickstarter from the WolfNet Radio interview of Loren Coleman, via the BattleTech Forums:
MarauderCH IIC wrote:Loren Coleman is on the latest WNRP podcast and has stated that there will only be one shipping wave in this kickstater. He also stated that there will be dice!
Catalyst Game Labs wrote:Three new mercenary-themed ForcePacks are now available for order - bring the Northwind Highlanders, the Kell Hounds, and Hansen's Roughriders to your tables! Each of these ForcePacks is exclusively available through one of our distributor partners - click here for details: http://ow.ly/EvUA50MBxxl
Dominions Divided
Print+PDF: $39.99
PDF Only: $14.99
Across the reinvigorated Federated Suns, the call goes out: the time has come to retake the jewel of New Avalon from the Dragon, and throw back the Draconis Combine invaders. But the demands of war and politics will test the fragile alliance between First Prince Julian Davion and Prince’s Champion Erik Sandoval-Groell, and threaten to renew the chaos they seek to conquer.
The Rasalhague Dominion, so long a bastion of stability and internal harmony, greets the news of the ilClan’s accession with anything but a united front. Between those who believe that joining the newborn Star League is the Dominion’s destiny, and those not willing to deny the power and promise of their fusion culture, a single vote could secure a bright new future, or ignite the flames of violence.
Dominions Divided is a BattleTech sourcebook providing full details of the events within the Federated Suns, Draconis Combine, and Rasalhague Dominion from 3151 to mid-3152. Included are a full historical summary of events in those regions of space, personality and unit profiles of key players—many appearing here for the first time–and game information along with a glossy campaign map to bring it all to your BattleTech tabletop.
Note: This zip file contains two PDFs. The first is the book itself. The second is the Campaign Map, which with the physical book is a 38” x 26”, double-sided, laminated poster.
I vaguely remember the name "Nueva Castile" from back in the Explorer Corps book era, only remembered that it was a bit cringe, but I was surfing Sarna and for some reason eventually reached the Nueva Castile and Umayyad Caliphate pages and... ohhh boy, "cringe" doesn't even start defining it xDDDDD.
It is a work of beauty, how the designers decided to replicate almost to the letter the "moor" invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (while erasing everything except Castille, for some reason, no Aragón, no Portugal, no nothing XD) donw to all the planet names being word for word spanish cities (c'mon, at least make it "Nueva Granada" or something ^_^). It is a beautiful trainwreck and I shudder to think what would have happened if they would do this nowadays with a non-european country.
They funniest bits, though, were calling their first Battlemech model the "Reconquista"(seriously, from the outside it might sound OK, but if you speak spanish, which is a gendered language, calling a combat vehicle that sounds stupid xD, similar to calling a ship "him" instead of "her" in english, but moreso) and thinking that the castilian would call the invaders "umayyad" instead of "moors" if they were from spaniard descend (also, the invaders eventually calling themselves caliphate because reasons is also kinda out there).
So, it's a beautiful trainwreck, horrible and incredibly funny at the same time. It's so bad I kinda love it ^^
Charistoph wrote: You're surprised that futbol would be used for conflict resolution when a Rasalhague World was defended and won by American football?
To me that's just extending the trend.
Well, seeing as I was not privy to that particular incident... kinda? xD
But that's not what it's saying, is mostly sayng that they had an interplanetary fútbol league: that it was one of the kinds of conflict they engaged in, not that it was used for conflict resolution.
It's just kind of hilarious that they deemed that important enough to add it: if it merits mentioning here and basically nowhere else (hey, they have sport tournaments!) it surely must follow that it's not an usual thing in the Btech universe... or they play fútbol with mechs .
Charistoph wrote: You're surprised that futbol would be used for conflict resolution when a Rasalhague World was defended and won by American football?
They go into that a little more in-depth in Dominions Divided about how after the transition to the Rasalhague Dominion they have "friendly matches" and "historical rematches" on the gridiron where the warrior caste amateurs always thrash the professional civilian players.
Charistoph wrote: You're surprised that futbol would be used for conflict resolution when a Rasalhague World was defended and won by American football?
To me that's just extending the trend.
Well, seeing as I was not privy to that particular incident... kinda? xD
Well, now you know something new.
Albertorius wrote:But that's not what it's saying, is mostly sayng that they had an interplanetary fútbol league: that it was one of the kinds of conflict they engaged in, not that it was used for conflict resolution.
It's just kind of hilarious that they deemed that important enough to add it: if it merits mentioning here and basically nowhere else (hey, they have sport tournaments!) it surely must follow that it's not an usual thing in the Btech universe... or they play fútbol with mechs .
In the 2nd Blood of Kerensky book (or was it the 3rd?) Phelan Wolf played lacrosse as part of an inter-house sport. So, still not surprising considering the culture the Scorpions ran in to.
Albertorius wrote:Also, it's "fútbol", with a stress on the "u"
I don't have that key on my keyboard, used the spelling you quoted, and you should be grateful I didn't just say soccer because I'm a heathen.
Ghaz wrote:
Charistoph wrote: You're surprised that futbol would be used for conflict resolution when a Rasalhague World was defended and won by American football?
They go into that a little more in-depth in Dominions Divided about how after the transition to the Rasalhague Dominion they have "friendly matches" and "historical rematches" on the gridiron where the warrior caste amateurs always thrash the professional civilian players.
Still not surprising considering that Phelan played lacrosse as part of an inter-house competition in Blood of Kerensky. From what it sounded like, many of those Old Terran sports were kept up among the Clans, and considering it's obviously a region that has a heavy Iberian influence, having an interplanetary soccer league would be about as surprising as Van Zandt having a back woods American influence.
Charistoph wrote: Still not surprising considering that Phelan played lacrosse as part of an inter-house competition in Blood of Kerensky. From what it sounded like, many of those Old Terran sports were kept up among the Clans, and considering it's obviously a region that has a heavy Iberian influence, having an interplanetary soccer league would be about as surprising as Van Zandt having a back woods American influence.
There's "heavy Iberian influence" and there's "repeat history word for word" ^^. This is the second.
Charistoph wrote: Still not surprising considering that Phelan played lacrosse as part of an inter-house competition in Blood of Kerensky. From what it sounded like, many of those Old Terran sports were kept up among the Clans, and considering it's obviously a region that has a heavy Iberian influence, having an interplanetary soccer league would be about as surprising as Van Zandt having a back woods American influence.
There's "heavy Iberian influence" and there's "repeat history word for word" ^^. This is the second.
Not quite, but still, those who are not aware of history are doomed to repeat it, or at least, help it rhyme.
Charistoph wrote: Still not surprising considering that Phelan played lacrosse as part of an inter-house competition in Blood of Kerensky. From what it sounded like, many of those Old Terran sports were kept up among the Clans, and considering it's obviously a region that has a heavy Iberian influence, having an interplanetary soccer league would be about as surprising as Van Zandt having a back woods American influence.
There's "heavy Iberian influence" and there's "repeat history word for word" ^^. This is the second.
Not quite, but still, those who are not aware of history are doomed to repeat it, or at least, help it rhyme.
It doesn't just rhyme, it's the iberian peninsula moor invasion right down to the planet names, stopping in the same place, and the Reconquista also going down the same, with even the centuries of cohabitation and mingling.
It is hilarious because they have basically opened a history book, paraphrased it, added the words "planet" and "battlemech", changed the names of the kings and basically called it a day.
I dont't think they have been quite so blatant anywhere else, not even in the Marian Hegemony.
2nd deiron
.maelstrom
.black hawk KU
.wolverine
.raijin
Clans-
.annihilator
.dire wolf
.X2 timber wolf
.mad dog
We got real lucky the first few turns as his command mech (annihilator) could not hit the broad side of a barn.
We started by trading his vulture for the dragon. MVP for me force went to the raijin who lived far longer than he should have (and scored the 2 kills for the IS side) by the end of the game it was the warhammer facing off against a badly mauled madcat and daishi both of which had multiple pilot hits and head damage. the annihilator was still there sort of but with 5 pilot hits he needed 11s to wake up again. so basically out of the fight.
chaos0xomega wrote: Just going to gloss over "Escorpión Imperio" (which is itself nonsense gibberish in spanish, and you can tell something that a gringo came up with)?
The march of technology across BattleTech’s eras is relentless—but some war machines never die. This PDF-only series includes brand-new BattleMechs and OmniMechs, alongside Classic ’Mechs and combat vehicles from both the Inner Sphere and the Clans rebuilt with the latest technology to keep them competitive on modern battlefields. This series also includes in-universe development notes, battle histories, notable pilots, and record sheets for each unit.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Never been a fan of TSM, if I'm being honest.
A very situational system, that's for sure, but great for units where running hot is an easy task, and even better if they are carrying a Physical Weapon.
In a way, Tag and those big SRM bays is almost like having a can opener and crit seeker- laser guided Arrow IV to pop the armor, and then feast on the delicious center.
I'm delighted with the weirdness of the Behemoth (Liao). We made a massive assault tank and gave it.... rocket launchers.
Rocket launchers is one of the weapons that baffles me. From a tactical point of view it fits very well into a cheap strike and fade unit but that seems to be the exception rather than the norm in the TROs with many mechs, and vehicles expected to fight with secondary weapons after their rockets go off on turn 1.
My side-
.Crimson langur prime
.adder A
.fire falcon
.jackalope
.demon tick proto mechs
The other side
.nova
.adderA
.fire moth
.pouncer
.grendel
Turns out the fire moth can't take 2 clan er smalls to the center torso rear......and i missed with absolutely everything else from 4 other proto's and 2 mechs....but all the crits (3) forced him to retire. The grendel missed a buch of shots he should have made....in all i lost the fire falcon, but that's to be expected for a 20 ton mech. unfortunely the other side lost 4 mechs and surrendered the field.
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Game 2 the big boys came out to play
My side-
.Omega
.tenshi
.hatamoto suna
.hitosune kozo
The other side
.poseidon tri-pod
.Ares/zeus
.clan specs banshee
. we did a good trade....for me at least. he got a floating gyro crit on the hitosune without doing much damage against it's hardened armor. i returned the flavor by putting my single gauss shot into the poseidons face and following it up with a single LBX 10 pellet to finish off the head. . the omega lost most of his left torso armor and was internal on the center. the banshee overheated and shut down (and fell). so the hades decide to leave before the 2 remaining assault mechs ganged up on him. he likely would have killed the omega, but have gotten killed in return.
Couple interesting things-they are size 3 so they tower over most terrain. they get a -1 to pilot standing checks and have 3 pilots (gunner/pilot/engineer) so you have to roll checks for each for pilot hits. if you lose the gunner for example the pilot has to take over 2 jobs and so on. whichever seat you take over the new occupant takes a +2 penalties for doing the non assigned jobs.
the legs are a bit weird as far as hit locations go. if you hit legs on the normal leg chart you have to roll a D3 from the front and a D3 +/- 1 depending on which side you are facing (making it less likely to hit the far leg on 6+).
The 3 legs also allows them to chose a direction and go that way, once they are going in a direction they spend an extra movement point and pick any direction they choose to change to. we will be doing it again in the future so you can look forward to more big boys.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Does the Omega get anything special for being giant?
Full Superheavy rules are now in TacOps: Alternate Eras. The Omega's basically just big (3 high) and slow (2/3 at 150t I guess isn't that bad) with some edge case interactions having modifiers for being superheavy. It's got a normal human pilot so it doesn't have any weirdness like a WoB Celestial or the extra rules for being a tripod like the Ares.
It has 3 crew-pilot who control movement, gunner obviously and an engineer to keep it working. loosing one of the crew causes penalties as the other crew have to fill in.
Also yes it is big, slow and stable.
We did think that since it is so tall melee attacks by other non super heavies would only hit legs...but that's our house rule.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Does the Omega get anything special for being giant?
Aside from what has been mentioned already, Super-Heavies handle Crit locations a bit differently. Basically, you half and then round up. So a Clan DHS will take 1 Slot, while and IS DHS will take 2. However, if you have 2 1-Crit items going in to the same Location (say, 2 Medium Lasers), they can both be in the same Slot, however a Crit Hit there will kill both of them. This lends the Super-Heavies to being able to field normal Artillery guns instead of Cannons, as a Long Tom is "only" 15 Crits for them.
Yeah, no time on that as SSW is a one-person gig at the moment from what I've heard.
MegaMekLab has them, but saving the file gets a bit wonky as it can't believe the size of some of the things in its file check.
That applies to both Super-Heavies and Tripods, by the way.
The Tripods also have a printer error in the "Safe" version where the reference table doesn't quite do the whole "roll @#$ for leg" very well. I think it's been solved in the more up to date 0.49.11, though.
I wouldn't mind seeing that one released, along with the Iron Cheetah (now that it's been canonized, is that one still considered a Smoke Jaguars mech?)
Still hoping they redesign the Hauptmann mech as well...the first Lyran omnimech.
Thargrim wrote: I wouldn't mind seeing that one released, along with the Iron Cheetah (now that it's been canonized, is that one still considered a Smoke Jaguars mech?)
You can get a pretty good idea of who the Iron Cheetah is available to from the article on Sarna.
Thargrim wrote: Still hoping they redesign the Hauptmann mech as well...the first Lyran omnimech.
You can always use the Regent, which is a hybrid of the Hauptmann and the Awesome and looks close enough to be an acceptable stand-in. It's due to be released in the Gray Death Legion Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack sometime this Spring.
I own the 3rd sculpt of it from IWM it is actually quite good. CGL has been doing a fantastic job re-imagining them in plastic. i particularly like what they did with the cauldron born.
So... has someone compiled a list of the new plastic minis' heights? Gonna print some customized mechs for a friend of mine (he wants a specific Level II), and it would be nice to have.
Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
H.B.M.C. wrote: Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
Other than really faction-specific things like the Jenner, Panther, or Vindicator there's not a ton from the IS 'Mechs so far that aren't fair game. With Comstar operating in all corners of the IS, you can do kinda whatever. Everyone focuses on the Star League and LosTech designs but MUL lists pretty much all the basic designs.
I understand that, but like the Level II's from the first KS, I specifically am looking for the ones that they would be more likely to have compared to the Great Houses.
My first thought is to consider what's left in TRO 2750 they haven't done yet. After that, then there are a few mechs like the Grand Crusader that came out later.
From 2750 still not done:
Thorn
Hermes (though I guess the Hermes II might count)
Wyvern
Kintaro
Champion
Bombardier
That's enough for a Level II, but I don't know how... cohesive a list it would be.
Post-Tukayyid it starts getting more expanded as ComStar starts focusing on the Clans and Word of Blake starts focusing on everyone else with units like the Emperor getting resurrected and the Grim Reaper to fill in holes.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
Well, I can teel you what he wants:
BTL-C-2O Battle Cobra
Dasher C
Uller Prime
FS9-H Firestarter
LCT-5W2 Locust
WVR-8K Wolverine
Post-Tukkayid, but I'm not really sure how much it fits. I'm guessing he's going for a mix of game use and looks. He was also eyeing the Hitman and the Flashfire instead of the Firestarter and the Dasher.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
Well, the
Firestarter
Ostscout
Hermes II
Ostroc
Scorpion
Goliath
All have c3i variants, making them very Comstar choices. Or Comstar's cooler brother, Word of Blake.
I'm still hoping for a surprise Celestial Level II. Those models desperately need an update to plastic, not for the looks, but for ease of assembly.
Gitzbitah wrote: I'm still hoping for a surprise Celestial Level II. Those models desperately need an update to plastic, not for the looks, but for ease of assembly.
They've barely touched the 'Mechs from TRO: 3055, so it's going to be a stretch to jump ahead two decades just to do the Celestial series.
His side
.dire wolf
.stone rhino
.timber wolf
.gargoyle
.executioner
My side
.blood asp E
.bloos kite 2
.turkina B
.super nova 2
.blood drinker proto mechs (9 tons with 3 er small lasers each-5/8/5 hex- 10/15/10 inch movement)
This was my first run with the ATM variant supernova. the entire game was only about 6 turns. first blood went to the asp with an ERPPC head decap on the timber wolf turn 1, in total i achieved 4 more head hits, one with a large laser (no crit) and 3 on the dire wolf again from the blood asp via ATMs and a laser from a proto.
The asp ended up tangling with the widow maker with expected results.
Losses on the other side-
.timber wolf-destroyed
.dire wolf-destroyed.
.stone rhino-forced withdrawl
.executioner-forced shutdown
.gargoyle-forced withdrawl
Losses on my side-
.bloods asp-destroyed
.X1 proto mech destroyed
.turkina-forced withdrawl.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I understand that, but like the Level II's from the first KS, I specifically am looking for the ones that they would be more likely to have compared to the Great Houses.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
In general? Star League era designs. Lots of stuff out of 2750, some tech refits out of 3050.
Gitzbitah wrote: I'm still hoping for a surprise Celestial Level II. Those models desperately need an update to plastic, not for the looks, but for ease of assembly.
They've barely touched the 'Mechs from TRO: 3055, so it's going to be a stretch to jump ahead two decades just to do the Celestial series.
True for the Inner Sphere designs, but when you consider the Bushwacker and Nightstar come from the same TRO as the 1st gen IS Omnis in 3058, plus the Regent which is a 3145 design, they don't seem to be rushing to go by TRO release.
So far, announced to be released from 3055 on the Inner Sphere side, or has recently been released we have the Nightsky, Wraith, Penetrator, and Gunslinger. I think I heard of the Grand Titan, too, but that could be a memory hole. That still leaves all of 10 Lights (including the epic Tarantula), 8 Mediums (including the impressive Huron Warrior), 10 Heavies (including the Rakhasa), and 5-6 Assaults.
Most of the Clan mechs from 3055 have already been released or announced to be part of the new Kickstarter. I think the Phantom, Naga, and the Galahad (maybe?) are the only ones left of that batch.
And that doesn't even consider that there are 11 ASF and the original Banshee design from 3025, several Level II of ASF from 2750, as well as Combat Vehicles.
If they weren't in such a (somewhat justified) rush to get to the Clan Invasion, they could have addressed most of that by now, and we'd just be getting in to the Clan Invasion now.
Vulcan wrote:
H.B.M.C. wrote: Out of all the 'Mechs coming in the new Kickstarter, and the few new ones we've had in the store exclusive packs, which ones would fit with ComStar forces?
I doubt they're going to do any more Level II boxes, so out of the 'Mechs we are getting elsewhere, what fits with ComStar?
In general? Star League era designs. Lots of stuff out of 2750, some tech refits out of 3050.
Pretty much. Look up any of the SLDF Royal Division variants of classic machines, and ComStar would have access to them and likely used them at Tukayyid, to say nothing about purchasing variants they found interesting as the Helm Core designs came online.
Gitzbitah wrote: I'm still hoping for a surprise Celestial Level II. Those models desperately need an update to plastic, not for the looks, but for ease of assembly.
They've barely touched the 'Mechs from TRO: 3055, so it's going to be a stretch to jump ahead two decades just to do the Celestial series.
True for the Inner Sphere designs, but when you consider the Bushwacker and Nightstar come from the same TRO as the 1st gen IS Omnis in 3058, plus the Regent which is a 3145 design, they don't seem to be rushing to go by TRO release.
In-universe introduction dates seem to be playing a part in 'Mech choices as well. The Bushwacker was introduced in 3053 and the Nightstar was in 2767 and returned in 3057, both in the Clan invasion era. Celestials would best be kept for a future Jihad era Kickstarter as it would be weird for them not to be a part of it. I believe the Inner Sphere OmniMechs would make a much more fitting surprise Force Pack for the Mercenaries Kickstarter than the Celestials.
As for the Regent, the Mercenary Force Packs seems to work on a different set of rules for what's included, especially due to their initial exclusivity. What distributor would want to have an exclusive Force Pack filled with 'Mechs that no one wants? I know I got the Hansen's Roughrider's Force Pack specifically for the Penetrator.
Today marks a momentous day, MechWarriors, as we celebrate the successful conclusion of the BattleMech Recognition Guide: ilClan series.
Since the release of the first volume back in June 2020, the “RecGuides” have become a much-anticipated and best-selling addition to the BattleTech line, updating Classic ‘Mechs and launching all-new designs while providing a steady stream of new content for the line.
To close out the series, here’s product developer Johannes Heidler with his reflections on this journey:
So here we are at the end of the RecGuide run. And what a run it was! It has been more than three years since Ray approached me with the statement “It’s the Unseen. The new classics… They need to be relevant. Now. 3150. 3151. 3152. etc forever.“ on 3 January 2020. Looking back at the frenetic chats that followed through to at least Q2 of 2020, we worked hard to find that “eierlegende Wollmilchsau.” Pardon the German. The RecGuides needed to be a swiss-army-knife TRO that accomplished the following:
* Make the miniatures produced for a 3050-set crowdfunding campaign—a hugely successful one that reinvigorated BattleTech like nothing before—relevant in the 3150 setting, the storyline’s current here and now; * Follow the visuals of the miniatures exactly, but also preserve the historical “feel” of the game pieces vis-a-vis their peers; * Make these “Classics” as competitive as can be, employing cutting-edge construction rules but keeping them simple enough to use for pick-up games (by mostly sticking to BattleMech Manual rules); * Create often back-dated lore conveying the 100-year old (or more) story of these machines in a believable way.
(One side note, which I can’t seem to fit in elsewhere: a lot of like-minded writers jumped into this feet first to such an extent that the entire project is filled with really, really deep cuts from BattleTech’s history, be it sourcebooks, novels, computer games from all eras and platforms, apocrypha, or even internet/fan history!)
Hence my usage of the foreign idiom above: some of the goals above seemed mutually exclusive, but needed to be met nevertheless. I feel the success of the series was contingent on these first months of discussion, which gave us an expanded format for the true Classics—our new label for what was once the “Unseen.” From there, everything fell into place. As the project’s scope took on shape based on the definition of various groups of ‘Mechs (true Classics vs Clan Classics vs OmniMechs vs the rest), we were able to include new machines as well. These incorporated some BattleMechs already conceived behind the scenes for the ilClan storyline as well as some new units that genuinely pushed the boundaries of what BattleTech has seen.
All the while, the scope continued to balloon. (Aaron is best prepared to say something about that. Ahem.) We went from 22 to 24 planned issues, by which time, a new crowdfunding project had started preparations. Suddenly, there were classic vehicles involved. The mission parameters stayed the same, but as for the scope, eh. We are proud to finally conclude the new releases at issue 32, more than three years after the project’s start.
Any such monumental project is collaborative from start to finish. The credits across the 32 issues contain a huge list of writers, artists, factcheckers, and production staff both old and new, who worked so hard to make this series a reality. Ultimately, this was a labor of love for all involved, whose willingness to plough on was fueled at all steps by the enthusiasm and appreciation of the fans who follwed the project along the way. We were happy that the RecGuide’s elaborate format even allowed some of you to join canon as the heroic MechWarriors using these machines across all of BattleTech’s eras.
What a ride! To all the RecGuide’s contributors and fans, I say a hearty THANK YOU!
We sincerely thank everyone who has purchased a RecGuide, eagerly fielded a new ‘Mech or variant, and supported this unique experiment.
And for those waiting for the print compilations, we haven’t forgotten you! The first volume in the series, detailing the new variants of Classic ‘Mechs, is nearing completion and should be available soon!
The march of technology across BattleTech’s eras is relentless—but some war machines never die. This PDF-only series includes brand-new BattleMechs and OmniMechs, alongside Classic ’Mechs and combat vehicles from both the Inner Sphere and the Clans rebuilt with the latest technology to keep them competitive on modern battlefields. This series also includes in-universe development notes, battle histories, notable pilots, and record sheets for each unit.
Store Sign-Up for Mercenaries Kickstarter Launch Parties In other news, the survey form for game stores and other venues interested in hosting a BattleTech: Mercenaries Kickstarter launch party is now available.
Store owners or staff can complete the form by clicking here.
Important Note: This form is intended for completion ONLY by store owners or their designated representatives, i.e. staff members. Submissions from unaffiliated individuals will be disregarded. If you would like your local venue to be considered, please provide ownership or management with the link above!
Albertorius wrote: I mean... it also might be they are focusing on the 3055 mechs because they are, as a general rule, the direst in need of an updated image.
I want a reworked Hollander (also a Fireball, a Hammer, Jackal, Komodo, Snake... I think I have issues with my tastes)
The clan player wanted to bring his assaults to the table so we made it a trial of possession. all he had to do was get a single mech across the river in the last 3rd of the table.
He ran
.annihilator (quad gauss)
.stone rhino
.X2 dire wolf (B and widowmaker)
.super nova (ATM)
I ran a theme of sorts
.fafnir
.atlas
.marauder II
.hauptmann
.stalker
.goliath
.barghest
.crusader
all the heavy gauss variants (except the barghest with improved version).
Instead of spreading out a bit he made the decision to deathball and made it easier to focus my fire. both the quads went down first.....with all those legs he just kept drilling the right torsos.
there was only one big headshot the entire game but it was form a 25 point heavy gauss hit on one of the dire wolves. the marauder II took some serious punishment before it went down. soaking 158 damage in one turn. surprisingly i only failed the pilot checks for fireing the heavy gauss once the entire game.
At the end it was the atlas, and hauptmann staring down the annihilator.
A very good game and a narrow victory for the Lyran alliance.
aphyon wrote: Brutal slugfest was the game of the night for me-
The clan player wanted to bring his assaults to the table so we made it a trial of possession. all he had to do was get a single mech across the river in the last 3rd of the table.
He ran
.annihilator (quad gauss)
.stone rhino
.X2 dire wolf (B and widowmaker)
.super nova (ATM)
I ran a theme of sorts
.fafnir
.atlas
.marauder II
.hauptmann
.stalker
.goliath
.barghest
.crusader
all the heavy gauss variants (except the barghest with improved version).
This looks great, what rules are you using for playing hexless?
Core 3d terrain rules
.simplified firing arcs
.1 hex=2"
.ranges (rounding up) and movement (walking-running is 1.5 times) are doubled
3/5=6/9, 5/8=10/15 etc...
Other optional rules we like to use
.ECM ghost targeting
.max tech ammo explosion rules
.+1 to pilot checks for every 20 damage
.vehicles use the max tech level 3 vehicle damage chart.
.fire as you bear (no declared fire sub-phase).
.standard pilots with lance/star commanders being an elite for their respective side.
.forced withdrawl
.safecon for disengaged units.
.1 to 1 unit formations lance V lance, star V star, and 2 to 1 for inner sphere VS clan=2 lances V 1 star. i have never had a one sided game doing this, in fact if i had not head capped that one direwolf i would have likely lost the game. it was that close.
For pickup games we do not use battle value, or tonnage, or C-bills, we pick and era and take what we like with a heavy emphasis on theme. I.E. you won't be seeing my Steiner forces running a Davion mech like a Templar. or in the case of something like an Atlas i use the faction specific load-outs.
Thanks for the detailed response! I'm just dipping my toes into classic battletech with the Game of armoured combat box and the mech manual, loving it so far.
Cubby wrote:Brush Wars is progressing. There was a snag in artist availability, but it's been ironed out. The first few pieces are in--and they're great--so we should have release dates for the first three volumes soon.
I was wondering if you lovely people could help me out, I would like to do a mixed battletech company that has both infantry, tanks and mechs but am at a loss as to where to start with vehicles as there are sooooo many.
So what would be a good place to start with adding infantry and tanks/transports, I am going homebrew merc company 3045 as our group is starting the clan invasion soon (bout time).
Are you doing a Company or a "Company Combat Team" (a company of each)?
What have you determined is going to be in the unit to start?
Do you want the Combat Vehicles (CVs) to cover holes or augment what you already have?
Are any of the CVs going to be transports for the Infantry?
For the narrative campaign I'm in, we're about 2 companies of mechs, and just started acquiring Vehicle support.
Aside from 6 Recovery Vehicles, we've added:
A Partisan and Pike to provide some Anti-Aircraft defenses.
A Mobile Long Tom to deliver ordinance from the suburbs to downtown (and planning on getting a 2nd at some point).
A Zhukov to either be a supportive bully for our fire lances or a brick to defend our other support units.
2 J. Edgar Light Hover Tanks for high speed shenanigans.
For Infantry, we've only added 4 Foot-based Ballistic Rifle Platoons to provide security for our Dropship Assets and Long Tom.
We've also considered getting VTOL transports like a Karnov or a Cobra and having Jump Infantry in them so we can plop them in very inconvenient positions to spot for the Long Tom.
ah I did not think of that, I should probably do a company of mechs and tanks then add infantry support, I would like mechanised infantry to roll along side the Tanks and mechs as thematically its cool to see.
Formosa wrote: ah I did not think of that, I should probably do a company of mechs and tanks then add infantry support, I would like mechanised infantry to roll along side the Tanks and mechs as thematically its cool to see.
Okay.
Keep in mind that there are two meanings of "mechanized infantry" in Battletech. One simply means Infantry that is being transported, either in an APC or Battle Armor riding an Omnimech. The other is a specific unit type of Infantry that is much more limited in Urban areas, takes half damage from other Conventional Infantry (ConvInf), but twice what other ConvInf types take from 'Mech-scale weapons like SRMs and Large Lasers.
The Mechanized Infantry unit type can be good for field work and can pull Field Guns pretty easily, but most will recommend Motorized Infantry for that job instead. Motorized can at least go in to Buildings, while Mechanized cannot. And Buildings are the best defense for Infantry as you can't attack them directly (without being in the same building), and they take reduced damage even then. In fact, there are few reasons, if any, to take the Mechanized Infantry unit type over the Motorized Infantry unit type.
So, in those cases, I do recommend focusing on transported Infantry as your "mechanized infantry". SRM-equipped can be nasty if equipped with Infernos. They can also carry LRMs for greater range (though, moving and firing is a problem with LRMs). Then there is the fact that Infantry (Convetional or Battle Armor) do not get any modifiers for moving, which makes them great spotters for any Indirect Fire needs (probably the best use for Rifle or Laser Infantry).
Kerfuffin(925) wrote:It’s been mentioned that house specific things don’t sell as well. The merc ‘specific’ lances work well cause they can more or less be used by anyone.
"House-specific things don't sell as well" is a bit of a misnomer. Depends what the things are.
Best I can say is that we're very, very aware of the desire for and potential marketing purposes of faction forcepacks.
Kerfuffin(925) wrote:It’s been mentioned that house specific things don’t sell as well. The merc ‘specific’ lances work well cause they can more or less be used by anyone.
"House-specific things don't sell as well" is a bit of a misnomer. Depends what the things are.
Best I can say is that we're very, very aware of the desire for and potential marketing purposes of faction forcepacks.
Faction-specific Force Packs? Yes, please!
Even more if they are providing Faction-specific variants of models they have already released.
There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).
Formosa wrote: Cappellans will likely have the cataphract
We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).
Ghaz wrote: There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).
Formosa wrote: Cappellans will likely have the cataphract
We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).
Huron warrior needs a new one badly, so badly.
Would be cool to get faction packs for those special mechs that sorta define a faction, probably wouldn’t ad that many new boxes ether.
Ghaz wrote: There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).
Formosa wrote: Cappellans will likely have the cataphract
We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).
Oh I missed that, problem with this game in the UK is it is hard to find anything and when you do the places that stock it do not have all the boxes so a lot of stuff just gets missed by me, I will look for that pack, thanks.
The CPLT-K2K will be available in the forthcoming Gray Death Legion Force Pack, while the Nightsky is available NOW in the Kell Hounds Striker Lance Force Pack (I got mine in the mail yesterday and it is a beautiful sculpt).
I have plenty of other mechs to use but this is the basis for the lance
So we're looking at 3025 then?
The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar. Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.
Which Wolverine and Locust variants?
Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.
So are we looking at a combined arms company then? Mech lance, vehicle platoon, and infantry platoon?
The 'mech force will leave even jump and motorized infantry behind fairly quickly, so I'm guessing you're going to use foot infantry and some form of transport. This can go from little 10-ton APCs carrying a squad each, VTOLs (read: Helicopters), up to the 45-ton Goblin 'medium tank' (really an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for one squad) and the Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (one vehicle holding the full platoon).
For the armor... fast hovertanks can deliver impressive firepower and speed, but are pretty useless in any sort of close terrain. But they could be an impressive support squad to back up the Locust; stuff like the Saracen/Saladin/Scimitar trio, or the Drillison and Condor heavy hovertanks. For fast tanks with full off-road capabilities - i.e. tracks - you're pretty much stuck with the Galleon, and it's slower than the Locust and no better armed.
If you're looking for something to back up the main force, you have the Bulldog, Manticore, Rommel, and Patton heavy tanks. All are capable of keeping up with the Warhammer, all have decent(ish) armor, and bring varying degrees of firepower to the job.
Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...
For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.
For the infantry transports I'd either go cheap and fast with 4 Ferret Scout VTOLs (15/23, virtually no armor, and a MG it has no business using); take a Maxim (8/12 and a bunch of light weapons for infantry support) and back it up with some support vehicles - MASH unit, Engineering vehicle, and Coolant truck; or go heavy with four Goblins - 3 with Large Lasers, one with SRMs.
Unless you expect to fight infantry on infantry, go SRM infantry all the way. If you expect to fight infantry, go MGs. But in general, let the vehicles and mechs fight infantry; use your infantry to ambush vehicles and light mechs. If your infantry is just there to provide site security for your techs and noncombatants, take cheap wheeled APCs (6/9, not much armor, 2 MGs) and rifles.
(And I'd go with the 1E Locust and the 6M Wolverine...)
The CPLT-K2K will be available in the forthcoming Gray Death Legion Force Pack, while the Nightsky is available NOW in the Kell Hounds Striker Lance Force Pack (I got mine in the mail yesterday and it is a beautiful sculpt).
Well 2 is a start, so replace the K2 with a kintaro and the nightsky with the cestus. the point remains that there is a space for faction specific boxes.
Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.
I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.
Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.
I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.
That depends too much on what are in those boxes. It's only sku bloat if they are all like the Merc boxes where half the 'Mechs, or less, are new sculpts.
However, if they are full of new 'Mechs, or at least notable House variants of classic 'Mechs, then it isn't really sku bloat as you're offering new options for players to have. There are hundreds of different chassis of 'Mechs, to say nothing of distinctive variants of those 'Mechs, that to have most of them they are going to have a large number of skus.
I have plenty of other mechs to use but this is the basis for the lance
So we're looking at 3025 then?
The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar. Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.
Which Wolverine and Locust variants?
Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.
So are we looking at a combined arms company then? Mech lance, vehicle platoon, and infantry platoon?
The 'mech force will leave even jump and motorized infantry behind fairly quickly, so I'm guessing you're going to use foot infantry and some form of transport. This can go from little 10-ton APCs carrying a squad each, VTOLs (read: Helicopters), up to the 45-ton Goblin 'medium tank' (really an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for one squad) and the Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (one vehicle holding the full platoon).
For the armor... fast hovertanks can deliver impressive firepower and speed, but are pretty useless in any sort of close terrain. But they could be an impressive support squad to back up the Locust; stuff like the Saracen/Saladin/Scimitar trio, or the Drillison and Condor heavy hovertanks. For fast tanks with full off-road capabilities - i.e. tracks - you're pretty much stuck with the Galleon, and it's slower than the Locust and no better armed.
If you're looking for something to back up the main force, you have the Bulldog, Manticore, Rommel, and Patton heavy tanks. All are capable of keeping up with the Warhammer, all have decent(ish) armor, and bring varying degrees of firepower to the job.
Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...
For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.
For the infantry transports I'd either go cheap and fast with 4 Ferret Scout VTOLs (15/23, virtually no armor, and a MG it has no business using); take a Maxim (8/12 and a bunch of light weapons for infantry support) and back it up with some support vehicles - MASH unit, Engineering vehicle, and Coolant truck; or go heavy with four Goblins - 3 with Large Lasers, one with SRMs.
Unless you expect to fight infantry on infantry, go SRM infantry all the way. If you expect to fight infantry, go MGs. But in general, let the vehicles and mechs fight infantry; use your infantry to ambush vehicles and light mechs. If your infantry is just there to provide site security for your techs and noncombatants, take cheap wheeled APCs (6/9, not much armor, 2 MGs) and rifles.
(And I'd go with the 1E Locust and the 6M Wolverine...)
Thank you very much for this Vulcan it is exactly what I wanted, I will do exactly as you suggest and grab those units.
Vulcan wrote: The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar.
Yeah, the C1 and the K2 are superior options in my opinion. If you want LRM-20s, the Archer is a superior choice both in Armor and Ammo supply.
Vulcan wrote: Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.
The 6R works well as a sniper, and then a nasty brawler up close. Armor and Heat Sinks could be better, but is still mostly solid. The 6D is more reliable, has no ammo and more armor, but isn't as versatile in firepower. The 6K is a little more reliable on Heat Sinks, just removing the Machine Guns.
I recommend the 6M for the Wolverine. You lose a little range by losing the AC/5, but the Large Laser does more damage and doesn't need Ammo. You gain a 2nd Medium Laser as well, so providing more backup firepower.
For Locust variant, that's a hard one. The 1E drops the Ammo, but has all of its firepower in its fragile Arms (good Armor for a 20 tonner, but it's still a 20 tonner). 1V is a good option if you know you will be going against Conventional Infantry in the field, but the 1S has a bit more firepower (and less Armor) with 2 SRM-2s.
Vulcan wrote: Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.
The Wolverine will be the Skirmisher, while the Locust is a Scout. The Locust should be providing Spotting for the Catapult's Indirect Fire and shiving savaged targets.
Vulcan wrote: Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...
A good and effective list, if you're allowed to have them. Being Kuritan, they're not the most available, but very effective. However, I highly recommend pairing up your tanks when and where you can. Besides the advantages of logistics, it helps out by having a spare for when things get... fragile.
Vulcan wrote: For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.
I'd swap the Rommel for a second Manticore. I've fought against them a lot, and it's combo of weaponry is incredibly effective, while the Rommel is too fragile till you can get your hands on the Gauss or Artillery variants.
As an alternative list, a pair of J. Edgars for Scouting and either Manticores for heavy lifting, or if you want to go a little risky, LRM Carriers. They might make your Catapult seem superfluous, though.
Yeah, if I'm doing a combined arms company I prefer to use vehicles for indirect support. Hunter light tanks (5/8 tracked LRM 20) or Scimitars are good mobile support. For more defensive actions, LRM carriers can't be beat. SturmFeurs are nice too, and have decent armor, but lack speed to keep up with anything other than slow assault mechs.
The LRM-10s and PPCs on the Manticores are also useful in the fire support role too.
I agree on the preferred Catapult and Warhammer variants (especially the K1 Catapult), but the OP said he already had those locked down, so...
Wolverine 6M is just plain unfair. It has a decent chance of beating the Warhammer 6R, assuming equal pilot and player skills.
Locusts... well, if it gets hit it's pretty well screwed, so might as well go big firepower. YMMV.
The fun part of that trio of hovertanks is that they are variants on the same chassis; designed with interchangable parts for easy logistics. The Scimitar and Saladin especially are identical except for the weapon loadout. Saracens are a little different; a little more heavily armored (no turret) but an 8/12 AC/20 is well worth the effort.
As far as I can tell, the Rommel and Manticore have very similar armor (looking at the vehicle sheets). I'd have to dig out the relevant TROs to get exact armor numbers...
There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.
There is that; split the armor platoon and cover both the fast strike and heavy support roles. You wind up not doing either of them as well, but cover both options reasonably. The J.Edgars are nice little fast hovertanks, but again don't bring much more firepower than the Locust does itself. That's why I advocated for the slower but more heavily armed medium to heavy hovertanks.
And if you're going to go that route, a pair of Manticores are definitely the way to go. Similar weapons loadout to the Warhammer, but with LRMs to back up the Catapult.
What's your thought on infantry and APCs/IFVs at this level of unit building? Worth the effort to go big like the Goblin or Maxim? Fast VTOLs for maximum mobility? Or keep it cheap and use APCs? Is it worth accepting the loss of operational unit mobility to use motorized infantry and get access to assault guns?
Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.
I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.
That depends too much on what are in those boxes. It's only sku bloat if they are all like the Merc boxes where half the 'Mechs, or less, are new sculpts.
However, if they are full of new 'Mechs, or at least notable House variants of classic 'Mechs, then it isn't really sku bloat as you're offering new options for players to have. There are hundreds of different chassis of 'Mechs, to say nothing of distinctive variants of those 'Mechs, that to have most of them they are going to have a large number of skus.
Indeed if you stick any combination of 4 mechs from the ones Ghaz or myself listed i do not see them having any trouble selling them as faction boxes. especially since they are all pretty much mechs that CGL have not released yet.
tassa_kay wrote:A couple of things I thought of that I'd LOVE to see:
- A PDF series, one for each Great House, detailing the proto-states that preceded the respective Houses. Kinda like the United Hindu Collective that was covered in the Age of War book. As a Capellan fan, I'd LOVE to get more insight into the Capellan Zone factions, especially the ones that we have little to no information on, like the Sian Commonwealth/Supremacy.
- A similar PDF series detailing the Clans that didn't make the Field Manuals due to being dead or simply not covered: the Wolverines, the Widowmakers, the Mongooses, the Burrocks and the Jaguars (this would be a great excuse to clean up the contradictory mess that is their FASA-era force listings).
Jaguar force listing will be cleaned up in a future Force Manual. But it will involve a pinch of retconning.
Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.
Prometheum5 wrote: Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.
It's a part of the Force Manual line first mentioned HERE. The first three will be the revamping of the Combat Manuals into Force Manual: Kurita and Force Manual: Mercenaries and the new Force Manual: Davion. This is our first hint of anything beyond those three and that they're doing a 'dead' faction in the Smoke Jaguars.
Prometheum5 wrote: Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.
It's a part of the Force Manual line first mentioned HERE. The first three will be the revamping of the Combat Manuals into Force Manual: Kurita and Force Manual: Mercenaries and the new Force Manual: Davion. This is our first hint of anything beyond those three and that they're doing a 'dead' faction in the Smoke Jaguars.
I know that, we've gotten the same vague 'working on them' update for the revised Force Manuals for ages and now we've got some tease of another one being added to the queue. And you'd only know that if you are following the forum threads or maybe somebody mentioned it once on a podcast.
pokefan548 wrote:Ooooh, excellent! Very much looking forward to finally getting some conclusion to the Forgotten Worlds series. Not the end of the world if it slips, but now I just can't wait for Friday.
Obligatory monthly check-in: I presume the Force Manuals are still chugging along nicely?
As far as I know.
Blanket statement: we're about to re-work the product calendar for the near and mid-term future over the next few days, so I may (may!) have something more comprehensive to share in the coming weeks. It's not that we don't know what's next--we have many many many plates spinning--but we're going to move some deck chairs, so not too much to share at this time. It feels like last April's calendar-dump was well-received, so I may plan something like that, but I need to be careful not to take away from, or more likely, be drowned out by the Mercs KS launch.
So sit tight, paint those Clan Invasion KS minis I know you haven't finished (me too), and rest assured that we'll tell you know what we can when we can.
I believe that covers both of your comments.
EDIT: Mercenaries Kickstarter Preview 6 and Escape From Jardine, (Forgotten Worlds, Part Three) are now available
Vulcan wrote: There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.
It's a later variant called the Howitzer variant. It carries the Long Tom Artillery Cannon. It even has its own model for it at Ironwind Metals.
But either way, the Rommel has low Armor when compared to the Patton, but really needs to be closer than the Patton in its initial build. When you get Gauss and Artillery Cannons, it's a whole different story.
Vulcan wrote: What's your thought on infantry and APCs/IFVs at this level of unit building? Worth the effort to go big like the Goblin or Maxim? Fast VTOLs for maximum mobility? Or keep it cheap and use APCs? Is it worth accepting the loss of operational unit mobility to use motorized infantry and get access to assault guns?
Let me start off with the caveat that I haven't used Infantry very much, just faced them a lot.
A lot depends on what you want the Infantry to do and where you expect to have them deployed. If you're looking for Spotters, Jump Infantry in VTOLs are the way to go, as Jumping Infantry can deploy without needing the VTOL to land (or special rules).
The biggest problem with mechanizing any Infantry is that dropping them off leaves them completely vulnerable, unable to even Shoot of Spot.
The more powerful the IFVs, the more the Infantry is supporting the Vehicle, than Vehicle supporting the Infantry. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but most Infantry are SLOW, even the Motorized and Mechanized ones (though, the latter can often keep up with an Atlas). This means that once they Dismount to do anything, they're going to be staying in that neighborhood.
Field Guns can be nasty, though, even more nasty when you're able to use Hidden Rules and park AC/10s and 20s in a "no go" zone. The biggest downsides being that as you lose more men, you lose more guns, and you can only carry 1 ton of Ammo for each Gun. They can also be used for Artillery as well (with the same limitations).
Vulcan wrote: There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.
It's a later variant called the Howitzer variant. It carries the Long Tom Artillery Cannon. It even has its own model for it at Ironwind Metals.
Its datasheet is found in Technical Readout: Prototypes (pgs. 56-57)
Don't forget the Pegasus, can keep up with the Locust, and packs a punch at close range. Ideal to finish a wounded mech shooting from the rear or gravely wound a light, even some meds.
I have to say that the Rec Guide series went out with a bit of a whimper.
I was expecting some really cool gak with the Blood Asp, but other than getting a nice reference to the events of MechCommander 2, the new variants were pretty lacklustre.
Formosa wrote: ok... can someone give me an idiots guide to how infantry works as I have read the rules several times and my brain just does not want to play nice.
They can be a bit complex, but also simple in their own way.
What specific parts are you having trouble with? While I'm not one to have played with Conventional Infantry, I have gone against them a few times.
Formosa wrote: how they go in transports, how many are on a base, how to damage them etc.
Specific rules found in Total Warfare (TW) pages 214-227, with additional equipment rules till 229.
For transported Infantry (starting on TW 223), they mount and dismount at the end of the Transport's Movement, and only Infantry can Jump can dismount an airborne VTOL (i.e. Level of VTOL is +1 or more over the terrain it is in). The unit must have a Cargo/Transport Capacity large enough to carry the unit in question (TW 213), or be an Omni for Battle Armor below a certain weight (Battle Armor with Magnetic Clamps can ride anything, but reduce the ridden unit's speed if it isn't an Omni). Transported Infantry will take Damage if a Cargo/Infantry Hit Critical Hit is made. Battle Armor riding on the outside can get hit if the location they are riding takes a hit, and a D6 roll of 5-6. If a Transport is destroyed, roll a D6 and check the table on pg 223. If it is Battle Armor riding outside, they just dismount automatically if their ride Falls or is Destroyed.
Edit: The turn an Infantry unit dismounts, they are not allowed to Move, Shoot, or any other activity other than die. So be careful when and where you drop them off. End Edit
You can fit as much as you want on a base. The number of models do not need to match the number in the unit. The usual blister for Conventional Infantry is only about 6 and Battle Armor comes in packs of 3. Personally, I put my Battle Armor on 3/4" Fender Washers since Infantry do not have a Facing, and allows me to maximize the number of units I have as well as having a smaller base when they go to Leg an Enemy Battlemech. Here's a perspective shot with a CGL plastic Hellhound and 3 Protomechs from Ironwind Metals:
Infantry takes damage depending on its Unit Type and what is Shooting at it. For Battle Armor it is quite easy, whatever Damage it would do against a Vehicle is what it would do against them (Infernos being an exception, 3 hits on a specific Trooper in a turn is an instant kill). Conventional Infantry is more complex. For most Mech scale weapons, damage is reduced by a certain amount depending on its type with the table found on TW 215. However, certain weapons are "Burst-Fire" weapons that roll a random damage amount (Machine Guns, Small Pulse Lasers, Flamers, etc), and is a multiple D6 (Table found on TW 217). This damage is doubled after modification/Roll if they are in the open (i.e. not in Rubble, Trees, etc). Damage from other Conventional Infantry units is their normal amount of Damage the unit would do. The Platoon/Squad is reduced by the amount of Damage it takes after modification.
Conventional Infantry Damage is a bit annoying. Infantry ranges are much shorter than normal, as well as the modifiers for those ranges, and will be adjusted accordingly (TW 215). Roll 2D6 and compare it to the Cluster Table using the column for the number of Infantry left in the Platoon Squad. Then compare that Cluster Roll result to the Conventional Infantry Damage Table (TW 216) for the number of Troopers that Hit. Example: for a LRM ConvInf unit with 28 Troopers, you roll on the 28 Cluster Hits Column and roll a 7, which is 17. 17 Troopers on the LRM ConvInf Damage Table means 7 Total Damage. Damage is allocated in 2 Damage points akin to LRMs (i.e. 7 Total Damage does 3 locations for 2 Damage and 1 Location for 1 Damage). The Record Sheets in the back of the Tech Manual or from the print outs for MegaMekLab carry these tables (except for the initial Cluster Roll which is on TW 307).
Silly little scenario we did last night-
3 players
objective-get the black knight to yield (IE capture him with infantry.)
My side
.awesome 9m
.archer 6s
.X2 goblin IFV with a squad if raiden battle armor in each.
the opposite lance-
.banshee
.king crab
.X2 transport VTOLS with SRM infantry platoons with jump packs.
The black knight was the clan weapon version.
So we werre fighting each other while also trying to fight and capture the black knight......the black knight almost won.
highlights-
.lost the awesome to gauss head shot.
.the archer withdrew from damage.
.the king crab shut off his heat sinks and puprosely exploded to kill all my battle armor.
leaving one squad of infantry with 3 guys left and one of the transport VTOLs
the win was when the black knight went to sleep after taking multiple head hits, sadly we never managed to lop off an arm or leg, but he did take out the gyros with a set of floating crits.
highlights-
.lost the awesome to gauss head shot.
.the archer withdrew from damage.
.the king crab shut off his heat sinks and puprosely exploded to kill all my battle armor.
RazorclawXLS wrote:Can we get a breakdown of the Snord's Irregulars and the "surprise" Force Pack? It's practically March already.
Yes, and we just got the first four packs out into the world. Those two aren't too far behind, but we're not quite ready to detail them yet. Look for a post (website, social media, forums) in the next couple weeks with the breakdown.
I'm really looking forward to the Snord's Irregulars Force Pack and want to see what's in it beyond the Spartan (which while not confirmed, is almost definitely a lock for it).
And we now know what the 'mystery' Force Pack is! From the BattleTech Forums:
Adrian Gideon wrote:“Surprise” Force Pack
Not looking to invoke Cubby’s wrath, but I hate inadvertently setting false expectations, so here is, unofficially, the information: Proliferation Force Pack will include the Mackie, Ymir, BattleAxe, Gladiator, Icarus II, Firebee, Coyotl.
And here's the 'theme' of the Force Pack:
shivanwurm wrote:Someone posted this to the conversation on discord.
First Hegemony mech (mackie)
First Lyran mech (Ymir)
First Combine mech (gladiator)
First FWL mech (Icarus II)
First CC mech (Firebee)
First Omni (Coyotl)
First FedSuns mech (Battleaxe)
Adrian Gideon wrote:Not looking to invoke Cubby’s wrath, but I hate inadvertently setting false expectations, so here is, unofficially, the information: Proliferation Force Pack will include the Mackie, Ymir, BattleAxe, Gladiator, Icarus II, Firebee, Coyotl.
And here's the 'theme' of the Force Pack:
shivanwurm wrote:Someone posted this to the conversation on discord.
First Hegemony mech (mackie)
First Lyran mech (Ymir)
First Combine mech (gladiator)
First FWL mech (Icarus II)
First CC mech (Firebee)
First Omni (Coyotl)
First FedSuns mech (Battleaxe)
Nice theming to the pack.
If that's so, that's actually a fun collection. If you ignore the Quirks for some of them, it's actually a very effective force to work with.
Ghaz wrote: First Hegemony mech (mackie)
First Lyran mech (Ymir)
First Combine mech (gladiator)
First FWL mech (Icarus II)
First CC mech (Firebee)
First Omni (Coyotl)
First FedSuns mech (Battleaxe)
Of those the only one I actually own already is the Firebee.
Ghaz wrote: First Hegemony mech (mackie)
First Lyran mech (Ymir)
First Combine mech (gladiator)
First FWL mech (Icarus II)
First CC mech (Firebee)
First Omni (Coyotl)
First FedSuns mech (Battleaxe)
Of those the only one I actually own already is the Firebee.
Cool!
Fortunately that's probably the 'Mech most in need of a redo from that set!
Ghaz wrote: First Hegemony mech (mackie)
First Lyran mech (Ymir)
First Combine mech (gladiator)
First FWL mech (Icarus II)
First CC mech (Firebee)
First Omni (Coyotl)
First FedSuns mech (Battleaxe)
Of those the only one I actually own already is the Firebee.
Cool!
Fortunately that's probably the 'Mech most in need of a redo from that set!
The Battleaxe model does need a bit of work, too. Right now they only look like gawky Warhammers. It's one of the reasons I prefer the Hammerhands model more.
RazorclawXLS wrote:Can we get a breakdown of the Snord's Irregulars and the "surprise" Force Pack? It's practically March already.
Yes, and we just got the first four packs out into the world. Those two aren't too far behind, but we're not quite ready to detail them yet. Look for a post (website, social media, forums) in the next couple weeks with the breakdown.
I'm really looking forward to the Snord's Irregulars Force Pack and want to see what's in it beyond the Spartan (which while not confirmed, is almost definitely a lock for it).
Death_from_above wrote:
Update taking into account the latest information :
Overview taking into consideration all Mechs/vees shown/mentioned/hinted at so far
(ACS Patreon, KS announcements/updates, KerenskyCon, WolfNet Ep. 50, GenCon).
Items in italics have yet to be confirmed as being part of below mentioned packs.
Comments in italics are assumptions/personal opinion.
Taking a cue from the Retaliation Pack from the Clan Invasion KS, we might also
see the Mechs from the Box Set as a standalone pack (or possibly a pair of Lances).
Redesigned, but not mentioned in Jan 23rd update (IMO, not in KS) Glass Spider
Raijin
Fujin
Grand Crusader
Bulldog
Patton
SturmFeur
Hetzer
Phantom
Icarus II (part of Proliferation ForcePack, see below)
Spartan (high probability of being part of Snord's Irregulars ForcePack)
Loki MkII (part of an "interesting" ForcePack according to Anthony)
Hellhound II (Hellcat)
Pike
Savannah Master
SM1 Tank Destroyer
Von Luckner
Drillson
J. Edgar
Blood Asp
"Surprise" pack now confirmed as Proliferation ForcePack (ex-KS) Mackie
Ymir
Icarus II
Firebee
Battleaxe
Coyotl
Gladiator
As we’ve been beating the drums for several months proclaiming, the Mercenaries Kickstarter launches on March 23, live from AdeptiCon! We’ll be live streaming during the initial launch of the Kickstarter and throughout the entire show. We’ll have a calendar of the interviews, round-table discussions, and actual-play scenarios on the stream to share with you in the near future.
New at the Show Of course we’re bringing the entire current catalog of available BattleTech box sets, ForcePacks, books and maps–along with faction swag of metal dice, pins, patches and lapel pins. Additionally, we’ll have advance copies of the following items on sale as well; many of these are being flown in, and with the ongoing volatility of shipping, we cannot guarantee they will be there until we’re at the show. (Most of these items will be available through standard distribution by late Spring).
Proliferation Pack ($44.99) In 2439 the Terran Hegemony unleashed the Mackie—the first BattleMech—setting off an arms race across the Inner Sphere. The Proliferation Cycle anthology tells the story of how all six Houses employed force of arms, infiltrations and espionage to field cutting-edge new ’Mechs of their own. The volume also includes the story of the first Clan OmniMech.
This companion ForcePack includes all seven original ’Mechs, which can be fielded on any game table using the rules from Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras. No assembly required—includes seven MechWarrior pilot cards and seven Alpha Strike cards. Perfect for BattleTech and Alpha Strike action!
Bonus: Each ForcePack includes a code for a free digital copy of the Proliferation Cycle anthology!
(This ForcePack will be available via regular distribution this spring; it is not an exclusive.)
UrbanMech Lance ($29.99) Loved and hated in equal measure, over the last four decades the UrbanMech has become the mascot of BattleTech. Recently, the UrbanMech has been turned into multiple plushies, appeared in a company box, and even a full-scale inflatable display!
This ForcePack brings a new pose of the original UM-R60 variant from the UrbanMech Salvage Box, along with three additional variants, including a brand-new ilClan Era design! No assembly required—includes four MechWarrior pilot cards and four Alpha Strike cards. Perfect for BattleTech and Alpha Strike action!
(This ForcePack will be available via regular distribution this spring; it is not an exclusive.)
Snord’s Irregulars Assault Lance ($29.99) With a reputation for unorthodox tactics and a fetish for collecting lost artifacts and treasures, you never know what you’re gonna get when Snord’s Irregulars hit the field. Yet they always seem to scrape out of the tightest spots.
Unleash the Snord’s Irregulars Assault Lance! Included is the new Spartan and unique-to-the-Irregulars FrankenMech, a jumping Guillotine, and new variant of the Highlander—no assembly required—along with four MechWarrior pilot cards and four Alpha Strike cards. Perfect for BattleTech and Alpha Strike action!
(This ForcePack will be available via regular distribution this spring; it is not an exclusive.)
Recognition Guide, Vol. 1: Classics THE BEST, BUILT BETTER
The march of technology across BattleTech’s eras is relentless—but some war machines never die. As the ilClan era dawns, the most recognizable BattleMechs stand ready to carry your banner into the future, bristling with cutting-edge weapons and armor.
Recognition Guide, vol. 1: Classics collects some of the best-known Inner Sphere, Clan and ComStar BattleMechs, rebuilt with the latest technology to keep them competitive on modern battlefields. This volume is the companion to Recognition Guide, vol. 2: ilClan, and contains material originally published in the bestselling PDF-only BattleTech Recognition Guide: ilClan series.
Each machine is fully detailed with an illustration, in-universe development notes, battle histories, and notable pilots for each unit.
Two New Neoprene Mats ($39.99 each) BattleMat: Alpha Strike: AeroBase #1
BattleMat: Alpha Strike: AeroBase #2
Each map is 34″ x 22″, the perfect “two-map” size for most games. The maps are high-resolution with great color quality, making them some of the most beautiful and durable BattleTech maps ever produced. The neoprene is also thin for ease of storage, and double-sided for versatility.
CountersPack: Alpha Strike ($24.99) A perfect companion to both the Alpha Strike box set and the Commander’s Edition rulebook:
3 heavy-stock reference sheets of the most commonly used game tables
6 punchboards, including additional movement markers and trees from the Alpha Strike box, as well as all-new terrain such as rivers and roads, large game templates, and more.
A second complete set of the fifteen fold-up cardstock buildings from the Alpha Strike box
PlushyTech The pirate UrbanMech released as part of the Clan Invasion Kickstarter was a huge hit. So huge, in fact, we’ve unleashed a pile of reinforcements! Three new ’Mechs, with two faction schemes for each (including a House Liao Death Commando UrbanMech).
Destiny-scale Marauder ($244.99) There will be a limited number of these gorgeous, large-scale, resin figures available each day of the convention. Clean up and assembly is required.
These figures are a test product; their availability after Adepticon 2023 and outside of convention sales has not been determined.
Mercenaries Kickstarter Launch Parties It is our pleasure to announce the first venues for the Catalyst Game Labs Kickstarter Launch Parties, to supplement our Kickstarter Launch at Adepticon on March 23-26, 2023.
Northeast US: To Be Announced
Southeast US: Hangar 18 Hobbies, 112 Kilmayne Drive, Cary, NC 27511.
Northwest US: Zulu’s Board Game Cafe, 10234 Main St Bothell, Washington 98011.
Southwest US: To Be Announced
South Central US: To Be Announced
Canada: Ogre’s Den Gaming Club, # 23, 3220 5th Avenue NE, Calgary, AB Canada.
Germany: UniPlay e.V., Heckerdamm 210, 13627 Berlin, Germany.
UK: The Gathering, 43 Lower Gerald Griffin St, Limerick, V94 Y1F7, Ireland.
UK: To Be Announced
Four additional venues in the Northeast United States, Southwest United States, South Central United States, and the United Kingdom have been selected, but are awaiting final confirmation from the venues before their official announcement. An additional update will follow as the remaining venues confirm.
Additional information about the Launch Parties will be posted in our next update on Friday, March 10.
Coming Next Week: Phoenix Hawk Premium Miniature Assemble your own Phoenix Hawk with the next in our series of premium multi-part plastic miniatures. Ubiquitous throughout the Inner Sphere, the Phoenix Hawk is a mobile medium ‘Mech that packs a punch! Check out the images below for just a few ideas of how to pose and paint yours.
Yes. It's right from the Cranston Snord's Irregulars scenario pack:
During the Third Succession War Sneede piloted a FrankenMech Rifleman that he had rebuilt himself. The so-called "RFL-3N Rifleman Sneede" featured a Phoenix Hawk head, the right arm from a Warhammer, and the left torso and arm from an Archer, with only the center and right torsos and legs left from the parent design. Built around the 3N's standard 240 rated fusion engine, much of the weapons and ammunition from the donor 'Mechs was retained, Sneede's custom design being armed with a right-arm mounted PPC, left-torso mounted LRM-20 with two tons of ammo, and four medium lasers—one in the left arm and one in each torso section (with the center-mounted laser facing rearward). Carrying a total of fourteen single heat sinks, Sneede's patchwork Rifleman was clad in nine tons of armor.
TalonZahn wrote: Yea, I'm a grognard, which is why I'm psyched to see it.
I've been wanting to do a Snord's Irregulars force (circa 3037 - 3051) for years so I'm happy to see the rest of the Force Pack. I just have to wait for the Excalibur, Bombardier, Hussar, Champion and Kintaro for rest of the First Company.
I've had an unhealthy wish to add a Mackie to my Steiner force.
Not only does it scratch my "you aren't supposed to do that" itch, but I also have thought it'd be cool to take all the "older" mechs and play some battles in the early Succession Wars. And a random Mackie (that probably should have been slagged in the early-on fighting) as a commander's mech would be perfect.
Rihgu wrote: Today it was trending on Twitter alongside #GoWokeGoBroke, so if it's making those types mad it's about to go the opposite of broke, most likely.
Rihgu wrote: Today it was trending on Twitter alongside #GoWokeGoBroke, so if it's making those types mad it's about to go the opposite of broke, most likely.
Were these two things related at all?
Yes, people (on Twitter) seemed really mad about the Rommel tank being renamed, an author being fired, and "the worst types of Warhammer folk migrating to Battletech" (which apparently drove the first two changes).
In my experience, whenever a show/game/movie has this much backlash from the people who see everything as PC culture/cancelling/culture war it ends up being wildly popular, and also not related to any of those 3 things. (See also, on the opposite side of the culture war, the Hogwarts Legacy video game)
And because I just now became aware that my comments could be construed as support for a specific end of the culture war, by "those types" I mean culture warriors in general. See my "see also" comment above
Formosa wrote: Anyone else thinking that Battletech is about to explode in popularity ?
Today it was trending on Twitter alongside #GoWokeGoBroke, so if it's making those types mad it's about to go the opposite of broke, most likely.
Which has what to do with BattleTech?
I mean, sure, one could argue that BT has been 'woke' since the 1980s, what with Natasha Kerensky being a major MechWarrior character and all, and all the female and minorities in leadership roles... but it wasn't done for political/'earn brownie points with an incredibly outspoken segment of the population that doesn't even play the game" reasons; it was done because it made SENSE within the context of the story at the time.
Formosa wrote: Anyone else thinking that Battletech is about to explode in popularity ?
Today it was trending on Twitter alongside #GoWokeGoBroke, so if it's making those types mad it's about to go the opposite of broke, most likely.
Which has what to do with BattleTech?
I mean, sure, one could argue that BT has been 'woke' since the 1980s, what with Natasha Kerensky being a major MechWarrior character and all, and all the female and minorities in leadership roles... but it wasn't done for political/'earn brownie points with an incredibly outspoken segment of the population that doesn't even play the game" reasons; it was done because it made SENSE within the context of the story at the time.
EDIT: Ah, I see now. Good point.
I hate to say but Battletech was never "woke" in the mid 80s by the way. Science Fiction you can getting way with it , in games and story telling. Sex sell not woke . Fasa had in the beginning been trouble with some of their art works both female one the Great Natasha Kerensky minus the blue shirt in the Black Widow poster which would be used in the Scenario book. The other was the topless female Mechwarrior Sorenson's Sabres poster which was change with cooling vest would be used in the Scenario book. When the Battletech Clan box set was Kickstarted there were no woke it was Battletech fan base that supported the Kickstarter and why it did so well. Here the funny thing Mercenary was suppose to be Kickstarted in Dec 2022 but was change to Mar 2023. Why? I think it has to do with the fired author back in July 2022 if you think I'm wrong check FB page on Cat Lab on it . The angry was 492 . The like and love were 252. I think the change Mar 2023 was hoping that everyone would clam down before the Kickstarter Mercenary starts. That all I'm going to say. Oh I'am going to support the Kickstarter when starts. The big question how well is going to do?
The clan invasion had 11k backers and made $2.5m. The backer kit page currently has 14k people signed up, so unless they make an absolute hash of it, I imagine it will be somewhere in the same ball park.
It could also go much bigger. The first KS has been the first really big explosion of Battletech into the market in a long while.
Not just in terms of the volume of updated models,but the marketing and buzz around it as well (both company end and community end).
My prediction is if they've kept up with marketing and kept up with things post KS really well; then the second kickstarter should blow the first out of the water.
THAT is excluding financial variation socially between the first and the second.
So what we could see is a greater number of backers but perhaps not as much being spent per backer as in the first campaign due to variations in finical pressures.
I hate my dice. Had a small game yesterday 3 55ers vs Catapult, Wolverine and Commando. Both Griffins opened on the Commando's back, and missed most of the shots. My Wolverine-5M got under the Catapult min range, and only managed to tickle it. Then I kicked the Catapult (it was a 5 or a 6 IIRC) and managed to face plant myself.
Most of his falcons just did the stay away, hide in the back and snipe thing. the gladiator and daishi came out to play
The clan player requested a fight to the death instead of allowing forced withdrawl, he started regreting that request pretty quickly.
Since most of the clanners clustered on my side of the table the eridani were not in the fight much for the first part of the game. the warhammer was MVP in the early game as he soaked fire from 4 assault mechs for the better part of 3 turns. as far as damage output that went to the Akuma who scored 7 crits on the direwolfs center torso, 5 in one turn.
In other fun happenings on turn 3 the thunderbolt attempted a second turn in a row MASC.....and broke leg acutators in both legs so he was gimped for the rest of the game clanners won the game with the gladiator and turkina remaining.
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
The second game i got was much faster---
I am running a themed rolly polly lance ala scobol mech works so i have a grand crusader, gunslinger, tempest and a cerberus (played by an awsome 9Q as my cerberus was at home on the paint table).
It actually started out well enough for me and then took a drastic turn.....turns out the grand crusader doesn't have CASE and does have AMS ammo, 2 tons of it in it's center torso....and when it explodes and sets off the 6 tons of LRM 20 ammo......well i didn't bother rolling the 688 points of blast damage on the gunslinger standing next to him.
Miguelsan wrote: My Wolverine-5M got under the Catapult min range...
That's not a good thing. Catapult wants to jump around using 4 Med Lasers. You want to engage that thing at range, where modifiers and limited ammo will make its LRMs largely ineffective.
aphyon wrote: It actually started out well enough for me and then took a drastic turn.....turns out the grand crusader doesn't have CASE and does have AMS ammo, 2 tons of it in it's center torso....and when it explodes and sets off the 6 tons of LRM 20 ammo......well i didn't bother rolling the 688 points of blast damage on the gunslinger standing next to him.
One reason not to use the Stackpole rule.
Still, how does an AMS Ammo hit set off the LRM Ammo? Damage goes in, not out. I mean sure, it cooks off the 'Mech's internals, but the rules usually don't consider the rest of the Ammo to go off.
We actually LOVE the old ammo explosion rules. makes the game more interesting.
The old max tech ammo rules explode all of the ammo in the mech if the initial bin does enough damage to destroy the other torsos. it is the concept of an explosive force in a confined space magnifying the damage.
You calculate the total damage the ammo would have done and divide it by 3
.point of source-within the hex/2" full damage, within 1 hex/2-4" 2/3 of the damage and the second ring of hexes 4-6" take 1/3 damage all in 5 point hits.
If you have CASE the effect is the same as above but it is directed behind the mech in a cone. not destroying the mech in question, just the torso the ammo was in. CASE II is obviously the best since it just blows the one bin and 2 points of rear armor.
Finished a Panther, from the Polygon Masterworks Patreon
Spoiler:
I've always loved the little guy, and the sets have enough variation to assemble dozens, if I so choose.
And I probably will ^^
For example, the designer did a "KAZE" semi joke version with paired katanas, which... yeah, but the pieces allow me to do this:
You take a Panther 10K, put on it the XL reactor from the 13K to make it 5/8, add in the extra jump jet and put on it the sword, a snub PPC, 3 MLs and 2 MPLs (or X-pulse, dunno), and you get the "lost" Panther 15K. Not sure how good it would be, but it looks like fun at least.
Nice to see the Battleaxe didn't really need a drastic overhaul, just some cleanup and fixing the silly mismatched arms. Even the metal minis is pretty solid, other than the annoying missile hatches and the wonky SRM mount. I can't decided if I'm more excited for the Proliferation pack or Snord's pack but they are both high on my list.
Premium phoenix hawk is an instant buy, though I kinda wish they gave more info on when this week it'll go on sale.
Really hoping iron wind metals puts out a jade phoenix too. I do find it a bit odd CGL is pushing the ilclan era so hard with the sourcebooks and novels but not so much with the plastic product. Sure they have a lot of catchup to do with the past eras but at this rate it could be years before something like the hierofalcon is in plastic.
Refusal War's a little small, given that it's mainly a Jade Falcon/Wolf affair.
Great Refusal gives us IS vs Clans, Civil War didn't leave anyone out as the two nations fighting cover most of the IS, and obviously the Jihad covers everything.
I do wonder if they could kickstart a Jihad though.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Refusal War's a little small, given that it's mainly a Jade Falcon/Wolf affair.
Great Refusal gives us IS vs Clans, Civil War didn't leave anyone out as the two nations fighting cover most of the IS, and obviously the Jihad covers everything.
While it is limited in sphere-wide events for a time, this is probably one of the greatest proliferation of designs (which we're already partway through) till after the Blakes' temper tantrum is complete.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I do wonder if they could kickstart a Jihad though.
Most likely it will be listed under a different name, such as "Waterly's Reprisal" (deliberately giving a bad name to leave an easier name open) or something.
Thargrim wrote: Premium phoenix hawk is an instant buy, though I kinda wish they gave more info on when this week it'll go on sale.
Really hoping iron wind metals puts out a jade phoenix too. I do find it a bit odd CGL is pushing the ilclan era so hard with the sourcebooks and novels but not so much with the plastic product. Sure they have a lot of catchup to do with the past eras but at this rate it could be years before something like the hierofalcon is in plastic.
The sculptor of the Hierofalcon has already completed the Jade Phoenix and Ion Sparrow as well- but he was unwilling to share the release date of them. I'm really glad of it, that model has a really interesting wing joint that is far sturdier than most.
edit- There is hope- we will have a plastic Regent soon, which is a very quick turn around from ilclan metal to plastic.
Mercenaries Kickstarter Preview #7, New T-Shirts and Fiction
We continue our in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the development of the miniatures for this Kickstarter. Preview 07 PDF is now available–for free as always–covering the Firestarter and the Skulker Wheeled Scout Tank!
Finally, new today is the next short story in the Mercenaries Kickstarter preview series!
Perception of Victory A BattleTech short short by Michael J. Ciaravella
A WORLD UNDER SIEGE…
After repelling the brutal Capellan Confederation’s vain attempt to capture their planet’s working HPG, the people of Northwind had hoped to get a break from the growing conflict in the wake of the splintering of the Republic of the Sphere. But Capellan ruler Daoshen Liao has other plans for the beleaguered world, sending wave after wave of mercenaries to grind Northwind’s defenses into bloody dust.
Standing against them is what is left of the legendary Northwind Highlanders, particularly the Grey Watch. Already heroes for driving the Capellans off-planet, the valiant warriors of the Watch are now fighting a campaign of attrition, hoping to beat back the rampaging mercenary hordes. But when a Knight of the Republic arrives with universe-changing news, the men and women of the Grey Watch must face a remade Inner Sphere and find their place in it…or perish.
Now Available: Phoenix Hawk Premium Miniature Inner Sphere Icon!
First produced by the Terran Hegemony and a staple BattleMech of the Star League Defense Force, the Phoenix Hawk is an extremely mobile, 45-ton design appearing on the rolls of every Successor State army, and most Clans as well.
Now, add it to your own TO&E!
This premium variant uses new modeling techniques being employed to update all BattleMech designs. It comes unassembled and unpainted, with the extra arms and legs to create multiple poses including our first “kneeling” pose.
New Audiobook: “No Greater Honor” The audiobook version of “No Greater Honor,” the collected chronicles of the Eridani Light Horse mercenary brigade, is now available for your listening pleasure!
Most mercenary units fly flags on two flagpoles at their headquarters: one with their unit’s flag,
and other bearing the flag of their current employer. However, the Third Regimental Combat
Team—a.k.a. the Eridani Light Horse—leaves one flagpole bare, as a reminder of the death of
the Star League, and the other pole flies the Light Horse’s unit and regimental flags at half-
mast.
What triumphs and tragedies shaped the Eridani Light Horse and its traditions? What drove
them to become a force to be reckoned with, an elite mercenary unit with one of the longest
histories and the deepest traditions in the Inner Sphere? Now, collected for the first time, nine
of BattleTech’s finest authors bring the legacy of this storied unit to life like never before.
Witness the Eridani Light Horse’s origins in the Star League, and follow their evolution all the
way through the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion to their downfall during the Dark Age
and their resurrection in the uncertain future of the ilClan era.
Featuring stories from:
Joel Steverson
Craig A. Reed, Jr.
Chris Hussey
Randall N. Bills
Jason Hansa
Daniel Isberner
Alan Brundage
Jason Schmetzer
Michael J. Ciaravella
Box Set and Salvage Box Restock We’ve just received a huge new restock of all of our core box sets and the Salvage Boxes of individual ‘Mechs! They’re available on our web store, and make sure your local game store knows they should be available again through their regular distributors.
ICYMI: Free Record Sheets for Mercenary ForcePacks We recently uploaded FREE record sheet PDFs for all of our recently released mercenary-themed ForcePacks, including the upcoming Snord’s Irregulars and UrbanMech ForcePack.
Visit our Downloads page to get your copies!
Adepticon Livestream Preview and Schedule
We’re extremely excited to reveal our guest list and schedule for the livestream at AdeptiCon 2023 for the launch of the Mercenaries Kickstarter.
We’d like to thank the Lynnvander Studios team that will be running and hosting our livestream, which will be hosted at www.twitch.tv/Sixsidesofgaming and YouTube.com/sixsidesofgaming
GUESTS
The following BattleTech guests will be available directly at the show for questions, autographs, and handshakes, as well as participating in the livestream.
Randall Bills
Randall N. Bills has been writing and game designing for more than twenty-five years. He’s overseen the publication of hundreds of sourcebooks, rulebooks, boxed games and more for BattleTech across four different companies, as well as creative input on numerous other beloved game universes, including Shadowrun. He’s also written a half-dozen novels–including the Founding of the Clans trilogy–was the lore advisor on Harebrained Schemes’ BattleTech computer game, and was the co-story developer for Piranha Games’ MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries computer game. His most recent game publications include the alternate history tabletop miniatures game Leviathans and the Dungeons & Dragons Dragonfire deck builder game.
Loren Coleman
Loren L. Coleman is the owner and publisher of Catalyst Game Labs, and the most prolific writer in the History of the BattleTech Intellectual Property. Since 1994, starting with FASA, Loren has published 13 novels, scripted four computer games, written more than 100 short fiction pieces, and has been a major contributor in dozens of sourcebooks. #annoyingmikestackpole.
Ray Arrastia
Ray Arrastia is the BattleTech Line Developer for Catalyst Game Labs. His passion for the game goes back more than three decades, when he started playing the game at local game stores with friends. For the last 18 years, Arrastia has been a key part of BattleTech in a gamut of roles from QC, art, design, production, development, storyrunning, and management. He is a proud member of the team that has revitalized BattleTech for both the new and old generations of fans.
Brent Evans
Brent Evans is a long-time illustrator and award-winning art director. As an artist, he began freelancing in 1987 and worked in many genres including political cartoons, comics, and children’s books. In 2005, he was hired by gaming visionary Jordan Weisman to work on several games, and immediately distinguished himself as one of the core illustrators for the BattleTech franchise. His creative design and project management style inspired his elevation to Senior Art Director in 2009 for many legendary gaming franchises, including BattleTech, Shadowrun, D&D’s Dragonfire, Valiant RPG, and many more. From 2017-2019, he took on the additional role as Line Developer, leading the overhaul of the BattleTech product line and catapulting the brand into the industry-leading global success it is today. It is said that Brent’s “superpower” is the ability to recruit and develop creative talent.
Additionally, Brent is a graduate of and serves as a Board member for the Game Design & Development program for the University of Washington. In January 2023, he launched his first new franchise creation called LAND & SEA, with a novel trilogy available as an Amazon exclusive.
Anthony Scroggins
Anthony Scroggins is the art director of miniatures design for BattleTech, wrangling a team of ’Mech nerds. Back in the year 2000, he discovered MechWarrior, and has been a fan of BattleTech ever since. A feelance scifi artist for 14 years. Mechs, armor, and space have always been a focus of interest. He lives in rainy Oregon, and has been enjoying the resurgence of tabletop BattleTech in a rapidly growing local gaming community.
Marco Mazzoni (Only Available Saturday and Sunday)
Marco Mazzoni is a concept artist/art director at Harebrained Schemes and a cover illustrator for BattleTech. With a love of the universe that goes back to the late ’80s, he is living his childhood dream of painting mechs and contributing to the recent resurgence.
John Helfers
John Helfers has been working in branded IP development and publishing for more than twenty-five years. During his eighteen years at Tekno Books, at one time the largest book packager in the nation, he managed several New York Times-bestselling novel series, working with such authors as Tom Clancy, Charlaine Harris, Dale Brown, Mercedes Lackey, Stephen Coonts, and many others, as well producing hundreds of anthologies and novels.
Currently, he’s the Executive Editor at Catalyst Game Labs, where he oversees the fiction lines for BattleTech, Shadowrun and Leviathans, publishing more than 1.5 million words of original fiction every year. He lives and works in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Michael Ciaravella
Michael J. Ciaravella is the author of three BattleTech novels (Grey Watch Protocol, Paid in Blood, and The Damocles Sanction) a half-dozen short stories, sourcebooks, and the occasional witty remark. Constantly shocked that he has been playing BattleTech for nearly thirty years, Michael is honored to be allowed to indulge in his passion for writing in a universe that has been close to his heart for as long as he can remember, and working with the team that has done so much to reinvigorate the game we all love. In his remaining free time, Michael is the Chief Executive Officer of Clarion Game Studios, and is a Game Designer known for his work in the Hull Breach, Henchman, and Four Horsemen gaming IPs.
More
And there may be others, from additional BattleTech luminaries to reviewers, industry professionals, and more, all sharing what BattleTech has meant to them.
Compared to a primaris lieutenant it's not that bad. But the added 8 bucks to ship one to me brings up the hurt a slight bit. I'm too used to getting stuff from from my lgs and amazon with free shipping. I'm still going to get one though, i'm fond of the phoenix hawk design. And the past premium minis i've had like the AC stormcrow and Wolfhound IIC were decent. The timberwolf TC has muddled details though so hopefully the phoenix hawk is a bit more crisp.
Email them. Always email them. The only things I buy direct from Catalyst are the premium multipart miniatures; and the default shipping rate is $120 USD to get to me here in Australia. For a $15 USD model. After emailing them, they were able to knock that shipping cost down to $20 USD, and pointed out that it would remain there until or unless I ordered more than 12-15 of the premium multiparts due to weight.
Albertorius wrote:...Heh
$117.29 to ship one to the EU. That bodes well for the Kickstarter, very well indeed.
The 117.29 EUR is literally FedEx royally taking the p*ss.
I'm fully expecting the shipping costs to be higher than the Clan Invasion KS, but still hope that through bulk shipping/the use of local fulfillment centers they'll be able to keep them reasonable..
Cubby wrote:
New Upcoming Releases thread lightning round!!
No more info on the mystery US Launch Party location?
I believe it's somewhere in Florida, but I will check.
And I am quite curious to see what "BattleTech Aces" is.
Still-very-under-development alternate play mode of one of our two main systems (TW, AS). Not a distinct game, i.e. BattleTech Command or Shadowrun Edge Zone.
Will these mercenary short stories be compiled into a single offering or a POD?
I believe that's the intent, yes. Will confirm. But no reason why we wouldn't, we're pretty good at POD-ing this sort of thing.
Further, I know there is a large volume of out-of-print books, but the "Liberation of Terra" I & II; any chance these get a POD treatment or this year? They aren't that old.
Those two are at the top of our list. Unfortunately, the POD list is not moving right now, and I really really want it to. Layout bottleneck. Hoping to break the logjam this year.
Also, that upgraded Frankenmech is terrifying.
Funny what you can bolt onto stuff, when you don't care about your techs complaining.
How is stuff like restocks of the lance packs, specifically overseas?
Going to be some news for the Euro folks soon. Soon-soon.
Further, I know there is a large volume of out-of-print books, but the "Liberation of Terra" I & II; any chance these get a POD treatment or this year? They aren't that old.
Those two are at the top of our list. Unfortunately, the POD list is not moving right now, and I really really want it to. Layout bottleneck. Hoping to break the logjam this year.
CGL continues to be utterly baffling to me as a business. They've had these massively successful Kickstarter campaigns and by any measure are about to have another (probably the biggest yet) that have brought in an incredible swell of interest and money, and yet there are things that this company simply cannot seem to accomplish and have been making excuses on for years. How hard is it to pay somebody to fix the layout on their book publishing files and get relevant game material back into circulation? How hard is it to provide a product roadmap for the year (don't worry it's coming, it's coming!) I look at the way they respond to questions on the forum and Discords and it honestly feels like nobody actually works at CGL or on the Battletech line full-time. It always comes off as the hodgepodge of freelancers and volunteers and nobody talks to each other and the majority of what would be useful never gets done. I'm going to give them a whole assload of money in a month, but they have been driving me up the walls lately.
Email them. Always email them. The only things I buy direct from Catalyst are the premium multipart miniatures; and the default shipping rate is $120 USD to get to me here in Australia. For a $15 USD model. After emailing them, they were able to knock that shipping cost down to $20 USD, and pointed out that it would remain there until or unless I ordered more than 12-15 of the premium multiparts due to weight.
Yep - there's a bug in the webstore that messes up the international shipping options (or so they've said).
IWM releases posted to Twitter... Awesome 8Q we already knew about, Urbanmech with AC/10, AC/20, and Arrow bits, and a Warhammer 6R. Urbanmech and Warhammer feel like pretty misguided releases now.
We were supposed to be doing a 2 lance V clan star battle but a 3rd person wanted to try out a custom super heavy design so my team mate with the other lance sacrificed 2 units to allow in the superheavy (proxied with an omega and a green pilot).
I ran the above fat lance.
i ended up sending my "fast" cerberus and tempest in to distract and it worked wonders. it allowed the 2 ajax RAC tanks to get close to the clanners and delete 2 assault mechs
Funny thing is i sent the grand crusader the long way around and he almost survived the game......until the final round where he took 3 floating crits tot he center torso suffering 2 engine hits and an AMS ammo explosion. fortunately not enough to kill him but enough to put him into forced withdrawl.
Funny thing is i sent the grand crusader the long way around and he almost survived the game......until the final round where he took 3 floating crits tot he center torso suffering 2 engine hits and an AMS ammo explosion. fortunately not enough to kill him but enough to put him into forced withdrawl.
Even more lucky that AMS explosion didn't gut the unit on its own. Unless you've burned a lot, that can be up to 24 of a Grand Crusader's 25 Survivable Damage, or it didn't also tick off any thing else (depending on the variant).
Well i got lucky, i dumped one of the 2 tons of AMS ammo turn one and used the other bin a little before the explosion so i had a few internal structure left....it was the rolling 12 on a crit chance that got me.
Cubby wrote:
New Upcoming Releases thread lightning round!!
No more info on the mystery US Launch Party location?
I believe it's somewhere in Florida, but I will check.
And I am quite curious to see what "BattleTech Aces" is.
Still-very-under-development alternate play mode of one of our two main systems (TW, AS). Not a distinct game, i.e. BattleTech Command or Shadowrun Edge Zone.
Will these mercenary short stories be compiled into a single offering or a POD?
I believe that's the intent, yes. Will confirm. But no reason why we wouldn't, we're pretty good at POD-ing this sort of thing.
Further, I know there is a large volume of out-of-print books, but the "Liberation of Terra" I & II; any chance these get a POD treatment or this year? They aren't that old.
Those two are at the top of our list. Unfortunately, the POD list is not moving right now, and I really really want it to. Layout bottleneck. Hoping to break the logjam this year.
Also, that upgraded Frankenmech is terrifying.
Funny what you can bolt onto stuff, when you don't care about your techs complaining.
How is stuff like restocks of the lance packs, specifically overseas?
Going to be some news for the Euro folks soon. Soon-soon.
More information about the 'BattleTech Aces' mentioned above from the BattleTech Forums:
Kerfuffin(925) wrote:Aces has been ‘spoiled’. It’s a deck based ‘AI’ for solo play. Will have its own box.
I have played quite a bit of Star Trek Attack Wing Alliance, also by Lynnvander designer Josh Derksen, and the AI is no joke in that game. My group has lost quite a few more games than we have won against the AI-controlled Jem'hadar.
When the Mercenaries Kickstarter launches from the floor of the first day of Adepticon, Thursday, March 23, you’ll have a front-row seat thanks to the livestream we’re offering throughout the weekend. Keep an eye on bg.battletech.com this Friday, March 10 for the full schedule and guest list for the livestream from Adepticon.
Even better, we’re inviting BattleTech fans worldwide to join in the celebration, with Mercenaries launch parties planned around the globe! Here’s the lineup so far:
California: Gamelandia, 290 California Ave, Ste A, Palo Alto, CA 94306
New York: Legendary Realms Games, 294 E Montauk Hwy, Lindenhurst, NY 11757
North Carolina: Hangar 18 Hobbies, 112 Kilmayne Drive, Cary, NC 27511
Texas: The Forge Hobbies and Games, 14520 Memorial Drive, Suite 28 Houston TX 77079
Washington: Zulu's Board Game Cafe, 10234 Main St Bothell, Washington 98011
Canada: Ogre's Den Gaming Club, # 23, 3220 5th Avenue NE, Canada.
Germany: UniPlay e.V., Heckerdamm 210, 13627 Berlin, Germany
UK: Travelling Man/Leeds Wargames Club - Hicks Hall, 60 Bankfield Terrace, Leeds, LS4 2RE, United Kingdom
Ireland: The Gathering, 43 Lower Gerald Griffin St, Limerick, V94 Y1F7, Ireland
One additional venue is in the process of being confirmed, and will be announced shortly. Additional information about the launch parties will be posted in our next update on Friday, March 10,.
If you can make it to one of the launch parties, you may be able to take one of these home...
From Shrapnel Maggazine #12. Note that the artist has stated that this is just a cleaned up sketch and there's no further plans for this 'Mech at this time...
I dunno about the Jinggau art. I realize it's one of the awkward ones that needs to gain a waist in the redesign, but that makes it too tall and changes the proportions a lot to me. It also seems to have lost a lot of its roundness. This one seems a bit no-win as the things that make the original mini distinct mostly feel like things they've tried to move away from.
Comparing the artwork from the Technical Readout and the miniature from IWM, the concept sketch has them beat by a mile (even with that weird layout for the cockpit canopy).
.
so he was gimped for the rest of the game clanners won the game with the gladiator and turkina remaining.
